South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has secured a $1.1 billion credit facility with a consortium of local and international banks, it said in a statement released on Friday.
With a reported $30 billion debt still to be serviced, the company said the loan would form part of the financing of its current expenditure program.
“We are pleased that lenders have elected to continue partnering with Eskom on our journey to complete the capital expansion programme for the benefit of South Africa’s economy,” said Phakamani Hadebe, Eskom’s Chief Executive, adding that it is encouraging to see financial markets continue to support the utility company.
General Manager, Andre Pillay, said the conclusion of the facility would ensure that Eskom’s liquidity requirements are timeously fulfilled.
“To date, we have raised and secured approximately 95 percent of the $5 billion funding requirement for FY 18/19, the remaining 5 percent will be raised through various funding sources including domestic debt capital markets,” he said.
Additionally, Eskom said it has already secured 30 percent of its funding needs for the 2019/20 financial year and has secured 30 percent of its funding needs for the 2019/20 financial year.