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 Both sides said they moved closer to a deal on drastically slimming
down a money-losing arms manufacturer, a condition to unlock the 1
billion-euro tranche, but fell short of confirming whether an
agreement had been reached on Monday.
"There was progress in our discussions," the International Monetary
Fund's mission chief for Greece, Poul Thomsen, told reporters after
meeting Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras.
Inspectors from the European Union, IMF and European Central Bank
"troika" were due to leave Athens on Tuesday and Thomsen said they
would return in January.
Greece has been kept afloat by a financial lifeline from the euro
zone and the IMF since 2010, with 240 billion euros of loans pledged
in exchange for spending cuts and reforms.
Athens was due to receive up to 5.9 billion euros of loans by the
end of the year, according to the schedule published by the
country's creditors.
However, the remaining 4.9 billion euros is unlikely to come before
January, until agreement is reached on other sticking points such as
mass firings and lower pension fund contributions for employers.
The latest troika review, which resumed last Wednesday, has been
interrupted twice since September due to the reluctance of Greece's
austerity-weary coalition government to adopt any more unpopular
measures.
The lenders have been pressing Athens to restructure or liquidate
loss-making state firms including arms manufacturer Hellenic Defence
Systems (EAS) to cap their drain on the budget.
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"We can't prejudge the Eurogroup's decision on the Defence Systems
but we're optimistic that an agreement will be reached and the 1
billion will be disbursed," a senior Greek finance ministry official
said.
Athens has resisted a complete shutdown of EAS, which is almost
entirely owned by the Greek state.
Greece nearly went bankrupt last year as it struggled to meet its
bailout pledges but has no immediate funding needs, easing pressure
for a deal between the two sides.
Its next bond payment falls on January 11, when 1.85 billion euros
of Greek bonds mature, according to Thomson Reuters data. The
following big bond maturities, worth about 9.3 billion euros, fall
in May.
"If the 1 billion is disbursed, together with our cash reserves we
will be able to cover our needs," the Finance Ministry official
said.
(Writing by Karolina Tagaris; editing by
Alison Williams)
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