SOFIA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's gross foreign debt grew 36.6 percent to 36.4 billion euros ($50.95 billion) at the end of October from a year ago as banks tapped their foreign mother companies to extend loans, the central bank said on Tuesday.
The external debt at the end of October edged up only 1.7 percent from a month earlier as tighter global liquidity made commercial banks more vigilant and limited credit lending.
The gross external debt equalled 107 percent of annual gross domestic product, the preliminary data showed.
Economists have warned that Bulgaria's rising external debt and ballooning current account deficit heighten the Balkan country's vulnerability to external shocks as the global financial crisis hits foreign cash inflows.
Analysts say the emerging economy is heading towards a hard landing as growth is expected to slow to about 2-3 percent from about 6 percent in the past several years.
Some say Sofia could be the next in line to seek support from the European Central bank and the International Monetary Fund after Hungary, Ukraine, Iceland and Latvia.
Public external debt grew 2.6 percent to 4.2 billion at the end of October. The country paid a total of 5.7 billion euros to service its gross foreign debt in the first 10 months of this year, down from 5.5 billion a year earlier.
The government has refrained from tapping international markets and keeps a tight fiscal policy to counter the strength of private borrowing, which analysts say has been fuelling imports and making the country exposed to external shocks. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Ilieva; editing by Stephen Nisbet)