Greece passes debt write-down deal

The Greek Parliament on Thursday approved a massive bond swap that would wipe $142 billion) off the country's privately-held debt, as new projections showed the economy will suffer the worst contraction in Europe this year.

The emergency bill was passed by show of hands in an almost empty House as the two main parties that back Prime Minister Lucas Papademos' governing coalition stated their support for the swap deal. There was no roll call vote.

"The law is approved by majority," deputy Parliament speaker Tassos Kourakis said.

Greece is now expected to launch a formal offering to private bondholders on Friday. They will have 10 days to respond whether they will take part in the exchange.

The writedown to be imposed on banks, pension funds and other private holders of Greek government bonds was agreed upon this week by finance ministers from the 17-member eurozone.

The meeting in Brussels also approved a new $172 billion bailout to prevent Greece from going bankrupt and keep the country within the euro area. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said he hoped the new agreement on rescue loans would be signed and validated by the end of March.

Speaking in Parliament ahead of the vote, Venizelos insisted that ratifying the bond swap was the only way forward, and the alternative would be catastrophic, setting Greece back decades.

"The true dilemma is: either sacrifices with prospects, or complete destruction with no prospects. Either cuts which are harsh ... or the inability to pay salaries and pensions. Either reduction of fortunes, or a complete loss of fortunes. Either high unemployment or generalized unemployment," he told lawmakers.

He added: "Now Greece is obtaining a window of opportunity. We must make the most of it. We have not finished. We are starting again with better terms. We mustn't repeat mistakes, we mustn't have delays .... We must complete the implementation of the program."

Greece has been surviving since May 2010 on a first batch of international rescue loans as it became unable to finance its huge debt load.

But more than two years of harsh austerity implemented to secure the rescue funds have left the economy in freefall, with businesses closing in the tens of thousands and unemployment at a record high 21 percent in November.

In its latest projections on Thursday, the European Commission forecast a 0.3 per cent contraction in the eurozone economy this year, with Greece leading the way down with a massive 4.4 per cent decline. That would be the fifth straight year of recession in Greece.

The debt relief deal will force private bondholders to exchange their devalued Greek government bonds with new ones with a 53.5 percent lower face value, longer maturities and lower interest rates - an average 3.6 percent, compared to the previous 4.85 percent.

The bill passed on Thursday includes collective action clauses that, if activated, will allow a majority of bondholders favoring the swap to impose their decision on holdouts.

"If we do not implement that legislation, every speculator will be able to keep out of the process in the expectation of being paid in full," Venizelos said Wednesday.