Greece's $55B privatization fund: How it will work

Greece's $55B privatization fund: How it will work · CNBC

One of the key terms of Greece's 86 billion euro ($95 billion) reform-for-aid package secured Monday is its privatization "trust" fund into which Athens will transfer some 50 billion euros worth ($55 billion) of its assets.

The fund, which still needs to be approved by the Greek parliament by Wednesday, will then raise money for Greece either by selling the assets off or by running them profitably. The fund will be divided, with half of the 50 billion euro being used for bank recapitalisation, 25 percent to be used to pay down debt and the remaining 25 percent will be reinvested in the Greek economy.

CNBC takes a look at what's involved:

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The fund will act as an insurance policy for euro zone creditors who feel that Greece has consistently fallen short on its promises of reforms. For example, some of the privatisation reforms that formed part of Greece's earlier bailout deal dating back as early as 2010, have yet to be enforced.

According to the Euro Summit statement, which provides details on Greece's bailout deal, the fund will include "valuable Greek assets." This fund will also be established in Greece and managed by the Greek authorities, albeit under the supervision of the "relevant European institutions".

There is no further detail on what Greek assets the fund will contain, but large public companies and entities including stakes in Greek banks, electrical and utility companies, airports and ports are likely to be included. There is some speculation that the fund could even contain government-owned land and property.

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The statement said that assets placed in the fund will be sold over the duration of the loans issued by creditors. This initial deal is intended to cover Greek financing needs for up to three years, but the loans issued by the European Stability Mechanism, the euro zone's bailout program should have longer maturities of 10 years or longer, meaning Greece has some time to sell off its state assets.

"I think the thing that makes it work, is what they are not asking for is a fire sale of Greek state-owned companies. They are not saying you just have to sell 50 billion worth of Greek companies and give us the money as soon as you can. They are transferring companies or bits of them into the fund and they are going to run those companies for profit and run those companies in a way that delivers maximum return possible," said Jim Leaviss, head of retail fixed income at M&G, the U.K.'s largest asset manager.