ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece plans an early repayment of up to 5 billion euros ($5.34 billion) of bailout loans to eurozone countries this year as it seeks a return to normality after the previous decade's debt crisis, two government officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
The eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lent Greece about 280 billion euros during the crisis on the condition that Greece impose tough austerity measures.
Austerity slashed public sector wages and pensions, and triggered years of violent protests. But in recent years the economy has recovered, leading to a series of early loan repayments.
An official who requested anonymity told Reuters the government planned to repay between 2.5 billion and 5 billion euros to eurozone countries, "probably in the second half of the year".
The official said this would help the country make room for more bond issues without increasing its debt, while adding liquidity to a shallow Greek bond market. About 70% of the country's debt is held by its official lenders, the eurozone and the European Central Bank.
A second official confirmed the sum and timeline.
Greece recently regained its investment grade after languishing for 13 years in the "junk" category, which helped it attract strong demand from foreign investors in its bond issues.
With the planned payment this year, Greece will have repaid about 15 billion-17 billion euros from the first bailout loans.
In 2022, the country paid off the IMF two years ahead of schedule and in 2023 it repayed 5 billion euros of loans to eurozone countries.
The country's third bailout expired in 2018 and since then it has relied solely on debt markets for its borrowing needs.
($1 = 0.9366 euros)