Greek Finance ministry on Wednesday announced a debt swap plan aimed to boost liquidity in the domestic secondary bond market and strengthen the country?s yield curve.

Under the plan, Greece will swap existing bonds worth around 30 billion euros for five new ones of longer maturity. The new bonds will have a duration of 5, 10, 15, 17 and 25 years, carrying a fixed interest rate ranging from 3.5 pct (for five-year bonds) to 4.2 pct for bonds maturing in 2042. Bondholders can participate in the bond swap plan by November 28. BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Bank AG London branch, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank plc and Merrill Lynch International act as coordinators of the issue, while Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank and Piraeus Bank act as co-dealers managers for domestic investors.

 The plan was postiively accepted by international media. Le Figaro said that all macro-economic figures showed a return of the Greek economy to growth, after eight years of recession and a restructuring of public finances. Les Echos presented comments made by Stelios Manetas, an economist in BNP Paribas who said that the swap plan will not significantly change durations or the Greek debt, but will contribute to a return to normality. The New York Times said the new bonds would be easier to be traded in bond markets, thus more attractive to big investors. The bond swap plan is another step towards restarting normal funding activities in international capital markets after Greece exits the programme, a Greek Finance ministry official told the Financial Times.