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South Africa’s govt could get Eskom out of indebtedness - Colin Coleman

Friday, 17 July 2020 14:02
South Africa’s govt could get Eskom out of indebtedness - Colin Coleman

(Ecofin Agency) - The South African government could help its loss-making power utility Eskom out of the indebtedness that has been drowning the company for years. According to Colin Coleman (pictured), a former MD of U.S. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in sub-Saharan Africa, the government should shift Eskom’s guaranteed debt to the state balance sheet.

Under a bailout plan, Eskom received about $8 billion in 2008 and expects another $6.7 billion in the coming months. The challenge would be to settle this debt issue in compliance with creditors’ requirement, and without increasing the country’s increasingly unbearable debt.

The possibility of converting debts into equity was also mentioned but the idea was not supported unanimously. In the meantime, Eskom must continue to service the debt, which costs $209.3 million in debt repayments each year.

According to Colin Coleman, if the South African government takes over the guaranteed debt, the company will have a better debt ratio and will be able to focus on boosting energy production and distribution at lower costs.

Idriss Linge





 
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ECOFIN AGENCY offers a selection of articles translated from AGENCE ECOFIN. Founded in 2011, Agence Ecofin is a leader in Francophone Pan-African economic news, particularly in West and Central Africa. The agency publishes daily news on nine African economic sectors: Public Management, Finance, ICT, Agribusiness, Energy, Mining, Transport & Logistics, Communication, and Training.

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