Spain's Canarias region seeks 757 million euros financial aid

Spain's Canarias region said on Friday it would seek 757 million euros ($989 million) in aid from the central government to repay its debts and finance its deficit.

A spokesman for the regional government said the announcement was made by the head of regional finances, Javier Gonzalez Ortiz, during a news conference on Friday afternoon.

Canarias is the sixth Spanish region to tap an 18-million-euro liquidity fund set up by the central government to cover the financing needs of autonomous communities that are shut out of capital markets.

Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Andalucia and Castilla La Mancha already said they would seek around 15 billion euros.

(Reporting by Julien Toyer; Editing by Tracy Rucinski)