Market sees no point in Greek bond issue before next spring

The government should avoid tapping the money markets for at least another five months and aim at short-term paper rather than a benchmark issue, says Gianluca Ziglio, senior fixed income analyst at Continuum Economics.

"The window for issuing bonds this year may have already closed due to the recent turmoil and also the approach of the end of the year, when banks and investors tend to reduce their risk exposures," Ziglio tells Kathimerini. "Greece could, perhaps, plan on getting back into the primary market in the second quarter of 2019, as Q1 will likely see strong competition from the usually heavy issuance from all other eurozone countries, which may not help Greece's issuance plans."

Greece needs time to rebuild a relationship with its investor bases as it has been out of the markets for a while now, says Ziglio. He added that past issuances such as the 5-year bond...