国际英语新闻:Greece raises 5.6 bln USD in treasury bill auction

ATHENS, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Greece raised 4.38 billion euros (5.67 billion U.S. dollars) in a treasury bill auction on Tuesday, as the new debt buyback plan deadline for private investors expired.

Athens sold 2.7 billion euros in one-month treasury bills at an interest rate of 3.99 percent and 1.625 billion euros in six-month bills at 4.38 percent, the country's Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) announced.

The rates were similar to those secured in another sale in November. The new funds will be used to refinance previous bills maturing on Dec. 14, PDMA officials said.

On Dec. 13, the Euro Group is expected to give the green light for the disbursement of the next 34.4 billion euros of bailout aid to Athens, amid optimism over the result of a voluntary bond buyback scheme.

Tuesday's auction took place, as the deadline for private investors to participate in the 10 billion euros program expired on Tuesday noon.

Shut out of long-term debt markets since 2010, Greece relies on aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to avoid bankruptcy and overcome its debt crisis.