Payments begin next week

State coffers are opening as of next week for a series of payments to individuals and corporations as the government seeks to support the economy.

Next week will see the payment of the heating subsidy, the start of the fifth disbursement of the cheap state loans, more compensation to landlords for lost rental revenues and the state subsidy for corporate loan repayments.

- Heating subsidy. About half of the season's handout to consumers of heating oil, natural gas, pellets and in some cases firewood will be paid out next week, while in the next few days the Finance Ministry will issue its second decision on the subsidy, which Minister Christos Staikouras said would eventually exceed 100 million euros. Originally it was supposed to range from €85-90 million.

- Cheap state loans. In total 732,000 applications were submitted for the fifth phase of the "Deposit To...