Greece to raise $8bn from bond markets

ATHENS: Greece aims to raise 5-7 billion euros ($8bn) from the bond market next year, its debt agency said on Monday, as it unveiled the country’s 2019 borrowing strategy. Greece emerged in August from its third international bailout since 2010, and wants to return to bond markets as a regular borrower. “Greece plans to issue between 5 and 7 billion euros of benchmark bonds in 2019,” the debt agency said, adding that Greece’s cash reserves stood at 26.5 billion euros as of September. It did not disclose the timing or the maturity of the issues. The country has tested market appetite under the watch of its international lenders in recent years. It has built a multi-billion-euro cash buffer with money raised from markets and unused bailout loans, meaning it has enough cash to repay the roughly 12 billion euros in loans falling due next year and can stay afloat up to 2021. — Reuters