South Africa has been struggling for years to overhaul its state-power company which is plagued by corruption and mismanagement and reeling under a 400 billion rand debt pile.
Another 15% is international bonds, held by global asset managers such as PIMCO, BlackRock and Fidelity, according to recent filings. Citi says three-quarters of its bonds are government-guaranteed. "The magnitude of the crisis at Eskom is escalating and we believe more urgent and focused action is needed," she said.While the situation is pressing, it could take a while before a transfer is actioned after the budget.
Eskom's bonds seem to reflect part of that optimism, with some of its international issues up more than 8 cents on the dollar this year to trade at multi-month highs, Tradeweb data shows. , , ,