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February 24, 2012

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Greece passes debt swap with private bondholders

GREECE'S parliament endorsed a debt swap with private bondholders yesterday that forms the core of its 130-billion-euro (US$173 billion) bailout, despite new protests against tough budget cuts demanded in return for the rescue deal.

The swap, in which private investors exchange their bonds for lower-value debt, will slice 100 billion euros off Greece's debt, a vital part of the bailout plan aimed at cutting its liabilities from 160 percent of gross domestic product to 120.5 percent by 2020.

Greece's second bailout since 2010 was approved by eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday, averting the threat of a messy bankruptcy next month but doing little to allay doubts about the country's long-term financial and social stability.

"By approving this law, parliament will allow us to start getting out of the vortex," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told lawmakers earlier. "To succeed, we need to be united, serious, trustworthy, persistent and to work, work, work."

Greece said the offer must be made to bondholders by today and completed by March 12, before a March 20 deadline.





 

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