After being able to successfully sell Greece’s first bond on Thursday — as the country was locked out from international markets since the beginning of the Greek financial crisis four years ago — Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras addressed the nation.
“Confidence in Greece was sealed by the most objective judges, the markets in person,” said the Greek PM in his statement, mentioning that the reception of the five-year Greek bond exceeded all expectations.
“We asked for €2.5 billion, they offered us more than 20 with an interest rate below 5 percent! 4.75 percent! Meanwhile, all of Greece’s borrowing rates, short and long-term, are declining continuously for days. Now, they have fallen even more,” Samaras added.
The Prime Minister noted that if all goes well, Greece will in the future be able to borrow larger amounts with better interest rates, saying that the €3 billion instrument was all that the country needed at the time, and added, “The trial exit to the markets today opened the road for cheaper borrowing from the markets tomorrow, so as to reduce from now on the borrowing costs from our total debt.”
Samaras also said that the confidence shown by the markets will allow Greek banks to secure foreign money at lower interest rates, thus getting back the much needed liquidity while also aiding in the recovery of the Greek economy.
“Don’t be mistaken! This was all achieved with sacrifices and maturity by the Greek people, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart for their attitude,” Samaras noted, while also condemning the attitude shown by SYRIZA and “leaving them behind in their seediness and misery.”
The Prime Minister said however, that Greece has a long journey ahead in order to get out of the crisis, adding though that within a few weeks the country made great progress, with the first relief being felt immediately.
The IMF representative to Greece, Poul Thomsen, also welcomed the successful bond sale, mentioning, “We welcome this. It’s a fundamental objective of the program to bring Greece back to market and this is an important milestone in this regard, and that clearly speaks for the success of the program.”
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