(Adds debt agency chief comment, details, background)
ATHENS, April 28 (Reuters) - Greece will borrow a total of 50 billion euros ($65 billion) this year, more than a previous target of 43.7 billion, the country's finance minister said on Tuesday.
"To shield against a possible worsening of the crisis, we decided, even though we do not need the money, ... total borrowing will reach 50 billion euros," Finance Minister Yannis Papathanassiou said in a statement.
Greece borrowing sortie a day earlier, via a re-opening of a 4.3 percent 3-year bond, was well received by investors with order books reaching 13.5 billion euros. Greece borrowed 7.5 billion.
Greece is the euro zone's second most indebted economy after Italy. Public debt rose to 97.6 percent of GDP last year from 94.8 percent in 2007, according to Eurostat.
"A few months ago some were saying our country would not be able to borrow on international markets. They were projecting that it would be necessary to turn to the IMF," Papathanassiou said. "All these doomsayers were proven wrong."
The financial crisis widened the premium Greece must pay on its bonds compared to higher-rated core European issuers like Germany -- at a time when a slowing economy and weak government revenues boost public borrowing needs.
The 10-year spread between Greek and German benchmarks, which hit a record high above 300 basis points in Feb, stood at 217 basis points on Tuesday.
The head of Greece's debt agency (PDMA) told Reuters on Tuesday there were no thoughts to cancel planned dollar and yen- denominated issues.
"We do not intend to cancel the dollar and yen issues if market conditions allow us to meet our goals in terms of cost," PDMA chief Spyros Papanicolaou said."
He said the re-opening of a 10-year benchmark by June would probably be the last syndicated issue for 2009. (Additional reporting by Lefteris Papadimas) (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; editing by Ron Askew)