Eurozone approves €2.8b in bailout funds for Greece

LUXEMBOURG: Eurozone officials announced yesterday they have approved

2.8 billion (RM12.7 billion) for Greece from its huge third bailout after the cash-strapped nation delivered the needed reforms.

Following the latest disbursement approved by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Greece will have received 31.7 billion of the

86 billion bailout granted in July 2015, its third since being engulfed by debt in 2010.

“Today’s decision to disburse 2.8 billion to Greece is a sign that the Greek people are steadily making progress in reforming their country,” the ESM’s managing director Klaus Regling said in a statement.

An ESM spokesman told AFP the funds would likely be disbursed today.

The left-wing government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has reached milestones in pension reform, bank governance, the energy sector, and revenue collection, according to the director of the ESM, the Eurozone body controlling Greece’s bailout loans.

The government won office in January 2015 initially opposed to creditor demands.

If Greece implements more of the reforms under the bailout programme, its economy could “accelerate next year and the government may be able to start issuing bonds again next year,” Regling said.