Cyprus to discuss bonds with troika
In the next few days Cyprus Finance Minister Haris Georgiades will hold talks with the island’s international creditors – comprising the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund – on the issue of state bonds which are set to mature at the end of July and whose amount comes to 2.6 billion euros.
Discussions will center on the technical matters of bond management, with Georgiades preparing to discuss with the troika of lenders ways of overcoming the problem created by the 1.8 billion euros issued as state support to Cyprus Popular Bank last year, as well as the subject of bonds worth 800 million euros held by banks, cooperative lenders and semi-state corporations.
Finance Ministry officials said that Nicosia will seek ways to renew the bond of 1.8 billion.
The cash-strapped government’s total debt amounts to 5.1 billion euros.
