Greece says 2016 primary surplus hits 4.19 percent of GDP, under bailout terms

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's primary budget surplus last year reached 4.19 percent of gross domestic programme, under the methodology used by its international lenders in its bailout programme, the country's government spokesman said on Friday. Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said the figure compares to the country's bailout target of 0.5 percent of GDP in 2016. "It is more than eight times above target," he said in a statement, confirming what an official told Reuters earlier. "Therefore, the targets set under the bailout programme for 2017 and 2018 will certainly be attained." The government's estimate of the primary budget surplus, under the terms of the bailout, is based on data released by the country's statistics agency ELSTAT on Friday. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou)