Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Monday that looking for new buyers of Italy's public debt was not part of agenda during his six-day trip to China.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2018) Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Monday that looking for new buyers of Italy's public debt was not part of agenda during his six-day trip to China.
Last week, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that US President Donald Trump offered to help finance Italy's 2019 public borrowing during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in late July.
"The Italian press has been playing up this idea [of looking for investors]. But I don't think so ... I want to reiterate the purpose of my visit, which is to strengthen the economic relations between Italy and China to achieve a mutually beneficial win-win situation. Looking for new buyers for the public debt is not part of my trip's purpose," Tria said during an interview with the state-owned Chinese-language newspaper Guangming Daily.
The Italian minister added that Chinese investors would evaluate the Italian public debt in a similar way as prospective investors from Italy or other countries.
"Until today, none of the investors who bought the Italian public debt has felt regretted. I am optimistic and confident about the stability of the financial markets in Italy, as the government is announcing new budget policies," Tria said.
The Italian minister will be in China from August 27 to September 1.
According to the Central Bank of Italy, the country's public debt reached an all-time high in April, exceeding 2.3 trillion Euros (around $2.7 trillion). In 2019, the central bank is expected to place over 400 billion euros worth of bonds on the market in order to service the state debt.
