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Greek reforms ‘on track’

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Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou.

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said that the reforms of the Greek economy were demanding a lot of Greek citizens.

3 Jul 2010

Greece is “on track” with tough reforms to deal with a national debt crisis and fulfil the terms of a bailout loan deal with the EU and the IMF, the Greek finance minister said on Wednesday.
Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou also argued that Greece’s imminent return to borrowing in July with treasury bills after its loan rescue is “no market test” and should have no trouble finding demand.
“The logic is that one should always remain on the market to have reference prices. Failure to roll over short-term obligations does not send a good signal,” Papaconstantinou said.
Greek treasury bills worth 4.56 billion euros mature next month.
The planned return to debt markets is Greece’s first after it was narrowly saved from default last month by a rescue loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Analysts had doubted an early market comeback as lingering uncertainty over Greece’s frail economy has kept its borrowing costs at prohibitive levels.
But the minister insisted that next month’s T-bill issue was “normal” short-term debt management in line with a strict blueprint agreed with the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF in return for the recent bailout.
“There is no concern that these kind of obligations will fail to meet demand,” he said, adding that longer-term bond issues could be considered next year.
“For five or 10-year bonds we will see next year,” the minister said.
Papaconstantinou acknowledged that “much is demanded” of the Greeks who want to see their “sacrifices” bearing fruit. The mood was likely to darken further after the summer holidays, he warned.
“The problems are there and they are real, and come September families will become aware of the changes,” he said.

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