Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday the amount of a new aid plan for Greece hasn't yet been established, a day after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble put the cost of saving the debt-laden euro member at EUR90 billion.
"It's too early a moment to announce definite figures," Juncker told a press conference in Luxembourg.
Schaeuble, in a letter to euro-zone finance ministers, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union Commission on Tuesday called for a substantial new aid program for Greece. Such a program would involve the participation of private holders of Greek bonds via a bond swap that would lead to an extension of outstanding Greek sovereign bonds by seven years, Schaeuble suggested.
Wednesday, he told lawmakers of the governing Free Democratic Party, or FDP, that Greece's financing needs stand at EUR90 billion from 2012 to 2014, according to participants at the meeting.
Greece's official creditors have officially acknowledged that the country will remain locked out of financial markets all through next year, according to a draft summary of a report by the so-called "Troika" obtained yesterday by Dow Jones Newswires.
The report says Greece's recession will be deeper and longer than projected, and consequently it will take longer for the country to regain the markets' confidence.
Holding a joint press conference with Juncker during his visit to Luxembourg, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani said his country remains committed to the investment plan it announced last year for Greece, which could total as much as $5 billion.
"We will fulfil the agreement which we did between us and Greece," Al-Thani said, adding that a joint committee with officials from both countries is studying legal details on investments.
Greece and Qatar said in September they'd be looking at cooperating on promoting investment projects between the Qatar Investment Authority, the emirate's sovereign fund, and the troubled euro-zone member in a wide array of sectors, including real estate, tourism, transport, banking and finance.
Al-Thani's commitment comes as Greece is attributing increasing importance to its privatization program to put its public finances back on track. The Troika estimated that privatization receipts could total EUR7.1 billion this year, rising to EUR41 billion next year and EUR77 billion in 2013.
A provisional list of assets for sale this year included a 100% stake in Athens international airport, on a concessionary basis, along with 10% in OTE, a 34% stake in Hellenic Postbank and stakes of over 20% in the ports of Thessaloniki and Piraeus.
DOW JONES
