Lebanon's 2011 public debt expected between USD58b-USD59bn 

(MENAFN) Lebanon's Finance Minister, Mohammed Safadi, said that by the end of the current year, the country's public debt would be forecasted to grow between USD58 billion and USD59 billion, from USD52.6 billion at the end of 2011's first half, reported Arab News.

Safadi added that as a result of reconstruction cost from the civil war that took place between 1975 and 1990, the country's debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in 2012 budget would be one of the world's highest levels at 132 percent, from 135 percent in 2011.

On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that economic activity in Lebanon was picking up and it might reach between 3 percent and 4 percent the coming year.

It is worth noting that in spite of the slow economic growth of around 2 percent in 2011, the Lebanese government will boost budget spending by 15 percent during next year, and at the same time it plans to keep debt under control through raising value-added tax and other revenue-raising measures.