Gov't plays down bond profit payment delays

Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis on Tuesday played down a report saying that Greece risks missing a first tranche of European Central Bank profit returns on Greek bond holdings due to delays in reforms, noting that those delays have already been brought to the authorities' attention and are to be made public in a European Commission report on Wednesday.

Houliarakis made his comments in response to an article by Reuters which quoted sources as saying that there might be a few months' delay in the payment of the profits, citing the slow-moving process of privatizations, among other reforms.

"The return of the first 600 million euros from the profits on Greek bonds held by European central banks... will be based on the evaluation of the commitments that our country has undertaken from the end of the program through December 31," Houliarakis said,...