DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Greece will bring forward tax and pension reform to regain credibility in the eyes of investors as quickly as possible, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Thursday.
After a day in which Greek debt spreads against benchmark German bonds hit a record high since Athens joined the euro, Papandreou told Reuters Insider television the country was looking to the International Monetary Fund for expertise, not money. He also said it did not need EU financial assistance. Papandreou said tax reform would be brought forward to February from April, and pension reform to March or April from June.
"We're looking to do this as soon as possible so that this period of lack of credibility or jitteriness that exists on the markets, we shorten that period as much as possible," he said. (Reporting by Steve Clarke and Paul Taylor)