Lebanon's public debt tops 100 bln USD

BEIRUT, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's gross public debt reached 100.7 billion U.S. dollars at the end of March, an increase of 3.5 percent year on year, the country's Byblos Bank said in a weekly report released on Tuesday.

Debt denominated in Lebanese pounds totalled 61.3 billion dollars by March, up 1.2 percent from the same period last year, while debt denominated in foreign currency grew by 7.3 percent year on year to 39.4 billion dollars, according to the report.

Lebanon has been suffering from an unprecedented financial crisis in the past years and needs structural reform by the government in exchange for billions of dollars of aid from the West.