The Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung reports on the first bond issue of the year held by Athens and writes: “In Greece, once threatened with sovereign default, investors are now lining up. The first Treasury bond issue this year met record demand. Bids totaling 51 billion euros were received Tuesday for a new 10-year government bond, according to the financial agency in charge of managing the country’s debt. The country raised four billion euros in the process and has already covered about half of its planned borrowing needs of 8 billion euros for this year. The low risk premium of 0.58 percentage points signals a recovery of confidence in the financial market. The huge investor interest is a result of the significant economic recovery.”

Recovery continues

The same issue is also mentioned in a report by the German television station ntv, which noted: “At a rate of 2.4%, the Greek economy is expected to grow twice as fast as the eurozone average this year. In addition, a primary surplus of 2.8% is expected. During the severe debt crisis between 2009 and 2018, the country was on the verge of leaving the eurozone. It is now recovering from the financial crisis, from which it managed to survive only thanks to three international rescue packages totalling around €280 billion. […] Although government debt is likely to remain the highest in the euro area this year, at an expected 138.2% of GDP, it has been reduced by more than 45 percentage points by 2020. Greece also has a financial cushion of around €41 billion, which it could use to cover its financing needs for at least three years without accessing markets.”

Greece has also been able to use a financial cushion of around €41 billion, which it could use to cover its financing needs for at least three years without accessing markets.