April 14, 2013

Spain to rescue its indebted regions with 15 billion euros

DUBLIN: The Spanish government is putting finishing touches to a new bailout plan for its highly indebted regions to settle 15 billion euros ($19.7 billion) of unpaid bills to suppliers, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Saturday.


The plan will cover bills which remained unpaid after a first programme worth 30 billion euros last year covered bills for services ranging from health care to waste management.

"We're looking into the final figure but the treasury minister has said it would be around 15 billion euros," de Guindos said at a press conference following a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Dublin.

"It was hidden debt," he added, saying the new plan would have an impact on the Spain's debt but not on its deficit.

The European Commission forecasts Spanish debt will reach 95.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product this year and the 15-billion-euro plan will likely add around 1.5 percent of GDP in the total liabilities of the countries.

However, the cash injection will alleviate the woes of thousands of small- and medium-size companies which are struggling to finance themselves amid a renewed credit crunch.

The plan will also force the regions to pay new bills within 30 days. Once this delay is passed, the companies will be entitled to claim payments from the central government, which will reduce financial transfers to the regions accordingly.

indiatimes.com

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