Portugal passes on final bailout payout

Portugal's finance minister says the country will not request an extension to its international bailout program.

Portugal's government has decided to do without a final 2.6 billion euros ($A3.8 billion) in funds due under its international bailout program, which ended last month.

Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque said following a government meeting that it was decided "not to request a new extension of the program and thus not receive the final instalment of the program".

In May, Portugal exited a three-year, 78-billion-euro bailout program, but the final instalment of aid funds was still pending from its international creditors - the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Payment of the funds had been put on hold following a court ruling that invalidated some cost-saving measures to give the government time to figure out other ways to reach its budget targets.

Albuquerque said: "A reopening of the programme would lead to a loss of credibility for the country and could put at risk the progress achieved so far."

Portugal demonstrated on Wednesday that it can finance itself affordably on the markets by successfully raising 975 million euros in its first benchmark 10-year debt issue since exiting the bailout program.

The amount exceeded by a wide margin its target of raising 500 million-750 million euros, and the 3.25 per cent rate of return was sharply down from 3.57 per cent when it issued 10-year debt on April 23.


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Portugal passes on final bailout payout | SBS News