Greece has not asked for an extension on repayments of its EU/IMF bailout and is not officially taking part in any talks, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

The IMF and the Greek Finance Minister suggested earlier this week that rescheduling the payments was an option but Germany on Tuesday said it opposed the idea and the European Union’s executive played down prospects of any extension.

On Sunday, the IMF said loans to Greece could be stretched out or replaced if refinancing worries lingered in the markets, although it added it had no concrete plans for such an extension.

In response, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told Skai television on Monday that there was a discussion on prolonging the repayment period.
The IMF and officials in international markets were discussing the possibility of such an extension, government spokesman George Petalotis told a news conference on Wednesday.
“(But) we have neither submitted such a request, nor are we officially taking part in this discussion,” he said.

Analysts said it was likely that Greece would eventually need additional help because of a jump in borrowing needs when the multi-billion euro bailout expires, but said it was premature to discuss this so early in the process.

“It’s very positive, it’s absolutely necessary but it’s too premature,” BNP Paribas bond analyst Ioannis Sokos said, adding that Greece must first prove that it has met the bailout’s tough fiscal targets and is ready to go back to markets.

Athens’ high borrowing needs in 2014/2015 risked discouraging investors from buying new Greek bonds, making talk of a possible rescheduling essential at that point, he said.
Under the terms of the bailout Greece can stay away from markets until 2012 but it has said it wants to start issuing bonds some time next year.

“My only concern is the possibility of ‘wasting a bullet’ by negotiating/announcing this extension scenario at such an early stage of the Greek programme, where investors are not yet totally convinced about Greece,” Sokos said.

Greece will receive a total 110 billion euros under the three-year plan agreed by euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund in May to save it from bankruptcy and keep the debt crisis from spreading to other euro zone countries.

Under the terms of the plan, Greece must tidy up its finances by slashing its deficit to below an EU ceiling of 3 percent of GDP in 2014. But its gross borrowing needs will jump to above 70 billion euros in 2014/2015 when it needs to pay its lenders back, from around 55 billion euros a year in 2011-2013