Cyprus able to pay bills, official says

— Cyprus’ finance ministry said Tuesday that the government has secured enough money to cover its immediate financial needs and that there’s “no issue” of not paying workers’ salaries this month.

Tuesday’s effort to reassure workers and the public comes a day after the ministry’s top civil servant indicated that state coffers were running dry.

Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Christos Patsalides warned Monday that the government was days away from declaring that it couldn’t pay holiday salaries unless the country’s three biggest state-owned companies agreed to dip into their pension funds and lend it some $329 million.

All three have indicated that they would do so.

Cyprus is now finalizing a bailout deal with its euro partners and the International Monetary Fund to shore up the finances of its banks, which have been heavily-exposed to Greece.

Business, Pages 33 on 12/19/2012

Upcoming Events