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Greece emerged from a decade-long financial
crisis in 2018 but saw its economy slump again by 8.2% last year
amid restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, which also
hurt its vital tourism industry.
This year, the economy is set to rebound by 5.9%, higher than
the 3.6% previously forecast, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
said on Saturday, as he outlined a series of tax relief
measures.
Finance Minister Christos Skaikouras on Monday said that
projection was "absolutely realistic. It may even prove to be
conservative".
The government would spend 4.4 billion euros in the second half
of the year, bringing the total amount of pandemic support for
2020-2022 to 42.7 billion euros, Staikouras said.
Greece was also mulling its first issue of a green bond,
Staikouras said, joining a number of European countries that
have issued green debt to finance projects with environmental
benefits.
He did not give a timeframe but a senior finance ministry
official said it could take place in the second half of next
year and "would have to incorporate mature projects before being
issued".
Since exiting years of bailouts by the European Union and
International Monetary Fund in 2018, Greece has relied solely on
the markets for its financing needs. Staikouras said the
government was considering an early repayment of loans to the
IMF and to euro zone countries.
A finance ministry official said that could take place in 2021
or 2022.
(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Karolina Tagaris; Editing
by Alex Richardson)
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