ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece could use state-owned real estate assets as collateral for new bonds to raise more than 100 billion euros ($138.7 billion), under a proposal put forward by a leading Greek think-tank and a former conservative minister.
Yannis Stournaras, the head of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), said on Saturday the plan had been submitted to the government and would allow Athens to convert a substantial share of its public debt into a new form of asset-backed bond.
The plan would enable Greece, which expects debt to amount to about 162 percent of gross domestic product this year and which has been shut out of bond markets, to reduce its public debt by 50 to 60 percent of GDP.
via news.yahoo.com
