BONDS

The chief economists of Eurobank, Ethniki, Piraeus Bank and Alpha Bank. Milestone for the country's return to full normality, paving the way for new investments.

"The government and the Public Debt Management Agency act with determination and foresight, taking into account existing and future decisions of the European Central Bank in the exercise of monetary policy," Staikouras concluded.

The Public Debt Management Authority plans to raise up to 3.0 billion euros from the issue, covering around 40% of its borrowing programme for 2023. However, the interest rate of the issue is more than double.

The domestic economy is in a strong position, with its budget, despite many extraordinary benefits, under control and the government fully understanding the importance of fiscal stability.

The turmoil in European markets is intensifying today and the pressures are affecting short-term interest rates on the yields of the Greek and Italian government bonds, which have the greatest sensitivity to possible increases in the interest rates of the euro due to their huge debts.

Staikouras added that this "proved the markets recognize the effectiveness of the government's cohesive plan and its reliability over the management of the health crisis and its economic repercussions."

Greece raised 1.5 billion euros from the reopening of a 10-year bond issue, with the yield of the bond set at an historic low of 1.5 pct. What is more important is the increased participation of institutional investors in the bookbuilding process that markedly limited the participation of hedge funds.

Greek state bond prices rallied and yields fell to new record lows in the domestic electronic secondary bond market on Friday.