ATHENS: Greece’s government said that it will repay a $489 million loan tranche to the IMF on April 9, seeking to quell fears of default. Greece deputy finance minister Dimitris Mardas said that the country was ready to pay. “We strive to be able to pay our obligations on time. We are ready to pay on 9 April,” he said.
Greece is fast running out of cash and its euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders have frozen bailout aid until the new leftist-led government reaches agreement on a package of reforms. Greece’s lenders have frozen aid until it implements reforms, currently being negotiated between the leftist government and the institutions, participating in its bailout program. The last time Greece received bailout funds was in August 2014. The government has already borrowed from state entities to avoid a cash crunch.
The leftist government of Alexis Tsipras is expecting that the reforms package will be soon approved by the creditors’ institutions, helping to unlock the remaining aid of 7.2 billion euros and lead to the return of some 1.9 billion euros in profits made by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Greek bonds.
