Kazakhstan will repay ahead of schedule a total of $849 million of its foreign debt by the end of this year, Finance Minister Arman Dunayev said on Monday. Dunayev told a government meeting that the early repayment would allow the Central Asian state to save $209 million in debt servicing. Dunayev also said that the early debt repayment would allow the nation\'s monetary authorities to soak up excessive money supply and keep quickening inflation in check. The minister did not name the borrowings which Kazakhstan would redeem early. The oil-rich nation\'s external debt guaranteed by the state stood at $2.3 billion in the middle of this year, according to central bank data. The state external debt includes a $350-million Eurobond due to mature in 2007. Kazakhstan\'s gross foreign debt, including debt issues by private firms, totalled $34.6 billion in mid-2005, according to official data. (Reuters)