News24
12 Jul 2020, 16:10 GMT+10
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa's biggest fund manager, must ensure that state-owned power utility Eskom will operate profitably before its R92 billion debt pile is converted to equity, said Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo.
The plan proposed by workers' unions that the PIC convert its debt into equity to help ease the power utility's debt burden "has the potential to work", Masondo said. While Eskom has been able to pay interest on the debt, the power utility would need to generate sufficient revenue and profits to pay dividends, Masondo said.
"The PIC must ensure that the expected dividend earnings will be reasonably higher than the current interest earned on their loans," Masondo told the City Press newspaper. "Eskom must meet certain conditions if converting PIC debt to equity is to be successful and sustainable."
Eskom, which supplies almost all of South Africa's power, has about R450 billion in debt and its revenue doesn't match service costs. A proposal that the fund manager, which manages over R2 trillion, take a stake in the utility, was submitted to Treasury this year, the PIC chair Reuel Khoza said in June.
Get a daily dose of Israel Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Israel Herald.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: At least 13 people are believed to have taken their own lives as a result of the U.K.'s Post Office scandal, in which...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, following Germany's earlier reintroduction...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: After months of warnings from former federal officials and weather experts, the deadly flash floods that struck the...
MOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Financial markets kicked off the week on a cautious note as President Donald Trump rolled out a fresh round...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...