Greece May Receive First $8.3Bln Installment by Late June

Greece may receive the first installment of $8.3 billion as part of the $11.5 billion bailout payment by late June, European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Managing Director Klaus Regling said Wednesday.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – Greece signed a deal with its creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) and some eurozone nations, in July 2015 for a third bailout package worth 86 billion euros ($96 billion) in exchange for unpopular austerity reforms that include pension cuts and tax hikes.

Athens owes the IMF nearly 300 million euros this June and up to 450 million euros under the first bailout program in 2010.

"First disbursement of € 7.5 billion could be paid out in the second half of June," the ESM’s press service tweeted relaying Regling's words.

A statement issued by the 19 euro monetary zone finance ministers following their marathon state-of-play meeting said the first tranche would cover Greece's existing debt servicing needs.

"The subsequent disbursements to be used for arrears clearance and further debt servicing needs will be made after the summer," the Eurogroup ministers said.

The milestones Greece would have to reach to unlock the remaining 2.8 billion euros are related to privatization, including the new Privatization and Investment Fund, bank governance, revenue agency and energy sector, the statement added.