Rare growth-linked debt could work for Greece

By John Geddie

Greece’s proposal to swap debt held by its euro zone creditors for bonds with payments linked to economic growth got a cool reception in European capitals this week, with one official calling it a “new trick” to a haircut.

It would be the first time official creditors signed up to an idea that is unpopular with private bondholders and only has a couple of private sector precedents. While some see the bonds as a reform incentive, others see a way to dodge paying up.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.