Austria upbeat on next Greek loan tranche

Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter gave an upbeat assessment of Greece's chances of getting a next tranche of bailout loans after its parliament passed tough reforms demanded by international partners.
Euro zone finance ministers will meet on Sunday to hear a review of the situation in Greece by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Montary Fund, the so-called Troika.
"I am confident that there will be a positive report from the Troika and if this is the case we will help (Greece) with the next tranche," Fekter said late on Thursday in remarks for release on Friday.
Ministers are still awaiting final approval from the IMF that the overall structure of the rescue package is sufficient to allow Greece to resume borrowing on capital markets at reasonable rates in the medium term, she told reporters.
But Fekter said she had not detected any signs that Greece's parliament had made amendments to the legislation that would undermine the thrust of the reforms.
"All the current signals are that Greece has done the right thing," she said.
"This way, as painful as it is, has no alternative."
Fekter said it was impossible to gauge at this stage how large the private sector's contribution to Greece's recovery programme would be, and declined to discuss what role Austrian investors in Greek debt might play.
Investors will not be forced to take part in the rescue, she said, adding: "I will await the suggestions they make."
She also said there would be no deadline for private investors to sign up. "This is not a condition (for the bailout package), but rather a wish from policymakers."
Fekter said it was possible countries in the euro zone might find differing solutions based on national desires, but later added it was also conceivable that officials could forge a common European approach.
She wryly noted that Austria's biggest contribution to resolving Greece's debt crisis may have been nationalising the Kommunalkredit bank. A bad bank spun off from the lender has more than 1 bln euros ($1.42 bln) in overall Greek exposure.