European finance ministers have signed off on 78 billion euros ($110 billion) in rescue loans to Portugal to give the debt-ridden country time to overhaul its economy.

In a statement, the ministers say one-third of the package will be financed by other eurozone states, another third will come from a fund backed by the EU budget, with the final 26 billion euros coming from the International Monetary Fund.

The statement also says that the Portuguese authorities agreed to "encourage" private investors to maintain their exposure to the country and not pull out funds.

Officials previously said the average maturity of the rescue loans will be 7 1/2 years and come at an interest rate of around 5.7 percent.