Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos says he is confident that the country can secure "universal participation" in the debt swap scheme - the largest sovereign debt restructuring in history - following the extension of its offer until March 23.

Share Market Live

NSE

"The market knows very well that this offer is unique, it`s a very good and profitable offer. This is (an) absolutely constructive proposal not only from the part of Greece, but also the part of the so-called official sector," Venizelos told CNBC.

Venizelos said the participation rate by private bondholders had reached 95.7%, after Friday`s activation of the so-called collective action clauses(CAC) aimed at forcing more investors to participate in the debt-swap deal.

While the triggering of the CACs prompted the International Association of Swaps and Derivatives (ISDA) to declare a credit event, or what`s widely viewed as a technical default, Venizelos said this was not a cause for concern.

"The credit event and triggering of the CDS (credit default swap) is something internal. This is a kind of dealing room between banks and financial entities. It`s not something important for us as a real economy," he said.

The debt swap, which will see the private sector bondholders exchanging their existing government debt for new bonds worth much less, will wipe out 100 billion euros off Greece`s debt pile, leaving the country with what Venizelos describes as a sustainable level of public debt.

"For the first time, we are in a position to present a success story for Greece," he said.

The bond swap deal is also a condition for Greece to receive a second bailout package of 130 billion euros offered by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , which euro zone finance ministers are expected to approve on Monday.

Discussing what is needed to ignite growth in the struggling economy, Venizelos says the recapitalization of the country`s banking system is top priority.

"The first instrument of growth and prosperity is the necessary liquidity for the real economy and only through the new recapitalization we can achieve (this)," he said.

Addressing speculation that a third bailout package may be on the cards for Greece, Venizelos said the successful completion of the private sector involvement (PSI) gives the country a "complete argument" about the sustainability of its debt levels "Now we can persuade the market," he said.

Copyright 2011 cnbc.com

First Published:Mar 12, 2012 3:10 PM IST