London/Athens — Greece successfully sold debt to private investors for the first time in three years on Tuesday, making a significant first step towards financial independence when its third international bailout ends next year. The deal came a month after eurozone finance ministers signed off on a new loan and sketched out measures to chip away at Greece’s debt mountain after the current bailout finishes in August 2018. Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos hailed the successful sale, saying it was "a beginning" and a sign of confidence in the country’s economy. "There will be a second and a third (market foray), to approach August 2018 with confidence and emerge from the bailouts," he said. In the test run to ensure it will be able to rely on market funding next year, Athens sold €3bn worth of new five-year bonds alongside a tender to buy back outstanding five-year paper issued in 2014. That was to help lower its repayments in the years following the bailout exit. The deal did ...
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