Reforms push Greece to economic recovery

Reforms push Greece to economic recovery

The costs are high, but the government has stuck to implementing the required steps.

The government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras floated a sovereign bond for the first time since the economic crisis began in 2010. [AFP]

Four years after Greece entered the economic crisis, there are signs the reforms sought by the international lenders have begun to pay off, experts said.

The government floated a sovereign bond for the first time since the crisis started, following a report that Greece will achieve a primary surplus of 1.4 billion euros. The EU's statistics agency Eurostat certified the amount of the surplus last week (April 23rd).

During the crisis, Greece has been unable to borrow in international markets.

"The reception of the five-year bond has exceeded all expectations. International markets have expressed, beyond any possible doubt, their confidence in the Greek economy," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said.

The government said it hoped to raise 2.5 billion euros, but raised 3 billion euros at 4.75 percent in an issue that drew 600 bidders, particularly from the US and the UK.

The success comes only two years after investors suffered 74 percent losses as Greece wrote down its debt, which is still 310 billion euros.

"[The] successful bond issuance is a first but clear step in restoring market access for Greece. However, it should also be a reason to stay the course of reforms and strengthen the recovery under way," said Siim Kallas, vice president of the European Commission.

"This is good news," Antonis Klapsis, head of research for the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy in Athens, told SETimes. "After four painful...