The government strategy after Greece secures investment grade and opens up to a larger number of investors is to make use of part of the high amount of cash available in a productive way and toward the reduction of the public debt.
The rating agencies have set as a key factor toward Greeceās upgrade confidence that the debt ratio maintains a downward trajectory. As Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis pointed out in his speech in Parliament last week, among the governmentās goals regarding the public debt is the continuation of its downward course, so that it is well below 140% of GDP in 2027.
To achieve this, āwe will seek to reduce the amount of debt in absolute numbers. This strategy also includes our decision to pay off the bilateral loans of the first bailout early,ā as Hatzidakis emphasized.
The repayment of these loans concerns the two installments of 2024 and 2025, which amount to 5.4 billion euros in total, and will be done using cash reserves and not fiscal space, reducing the debt and easing the budget by almost ā¬40 million, as the loans have an interest rate close to 4%.
After investment grade is recovered, the Public Debt Management Agency will resort to more aggressive moves to ease the debt of ā¬356 billion.
Source: ekathimerini.com
