ATHENS - Lured by lower yields, Greece plans in the coming months another foray into the bond markets and also to repay up to four billion euros of high-interest loans to the International Monetary Fund, officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
The new bond issue, tentatively slated for before the end of June, would be the sovereign's third debt sale since Greece exited its third international bailout last August.
"It might be a new issue or a reopening of an existing bond, depending on market conditions," a government official said. "There is not a final decision on the timing or the maturity."
A second government source confirmed the plan, saying that the new issue might come by the end of the second quarter.
The size of the new issue will be about 2 billion euros, the second official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Greece hopes to raise about 7 billion euros in total from markets this year, based on its annual budget outline.
It has already pocketed 5 billion euros from two bond issues in 2019, covering about 70 percent of its borrowing programme for the year.
Athens is also planning to buy back up to 4 billion euros worth of expensive debt owed to the IMF if it gets the nod from its official lenders, another source close to the process said.
"No less than 2, no more than 4 billion euros," the third source said, referring to the amount. He added that Greece would make its intention official "in the coming months", but the exact time frame has yet to be decided.
HEAVY DEBT LOAD
Greece, the eurozone's most indebted state with a debt load equivalent to 180 percent of annual output, must repay about 9.3 billion euros of loans to the IMF by 2024.
That debt carries rates up to 5 percent, compared to about 0.9 percent for euro zone loans.
But it needs to conclude its second post-bailout review and get the final approval from its lenders for the buyback, the second source said.
On Wednesday the European Commission said Athens had implemented reforms required by creditors as part of its post-bailout programme. Euro zone finance ministers need to sign off on this at a meeting scheduled for April 5.
Athens raised 2.5 billion euros from its recent 10-year bond issue, priced to yield 3.90 percent. It now trades at 3.504 percent.
Greece received more than 280 billion euros from its eurozone partners and the IMF since 2010. It has repaid more than 15 billion euros of short-dated loans to the IMF since 2010.
Athens has a cash chest of more than 27 billion euros from money raised from markets and unused bailout loans. That amount would suffice to keep it afloat up to 2021 without raising fresh cash from markets.
(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou Editing by Gareth Jones) ((lefteris.papadimas@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376477; Reuters Messaging: lefteris.papadimas.reuters.com@reuters.net))
