At a time when the country’s cash flow exceeds for the first time, historically, 40 billion euros, the Ministry of Finance plans to proceed with the early repayment of part of the first loan of 52 billion, with which the Hellas in the memorandum in 2010.
The reason is obvious, the country wants to build a better loan portfolio and especially with lower interest rates. It will also repay the remaining loan that Greece has received from the IMF.
This was announced by the Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras, during the specialization of the economic measures announced by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the 85th Thessaloniki International Fair.
The Minister of Finance spoke about “the continuation of the implementation of a smart and far-sighted publishing strategy, in order to maintain strong cash reserves, which today exceed 40 billion euros”.
With specific policy initiatives, such as:
- regular access to money and capital markets,
- the preparation for early repayment of part of the bilateral loans concluded by Greece with the eurozone countries in 2010,
- the further repayment of IMF loans,
- the creation of a framework and the issuance of “green” or “sustainable development” bonds.
Through these initiatives, the aim is to further strengthen the prestige and credibility of the Greek State, to expand the investment base of Greek bonds, to improve borrowing costs and to strengthen sustainable economic growth.
Regarding the issue of “green” bonds, sources from the Ministry of Finance stated that the preparation of the ODDIH has begun, but there must be mature projects for financing and this leads to the second half of 2022. For the early repayment of the first loan, they said that the process has begun and “we are in consultation with the lenders on whether it will be done in 2021 or 2022”.
Referring to the spectacular revision of the forecasts for GDP growth, from 3.6% to 5.9% for 2021, Christos Staikouras estimated that the forecast based on the precursor indicators can prove conservative, while describing the following objectives in the economic field.
Enhancing liquidity
Particular emphasis is given by the Ministry of Finance to boosting liquidity in the real economy.
The following policies apply for this purpose:
- the extension of the “Hercules” program, which is already being implemented,
- the implementation of the debt settlement and supply framework 2ης opportunities for natural and legal persons,
- and the utilization of the loan portfolio of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, amounting to 12.7 billion euros.
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