S. Africa’s Biggest Debt Manager Halts Loans to State Firms
- Futuregrowth concerned by threats to Treasury’s independence
- CIO Canter calls for improved governance, transparency
S. Africa's Futuregrowth Halts Loans to State Firms
Africa’s biggest specialist fixed-income money manager will stop lending money to six of South Africa’s largest state companies because it’s concerned about how they are being run, government infighting and threats to the independence of the finance ministry.
Futuregrowth Asset Management, which has about 170 billion rand ($11.7 billion) in assets, shelved plans to lend more than 1.8 billion rand to three state companies on Tuesday, Chief Investment Officer Andrew Canter said by phone from Cape Town on Wednesday, without giving more detail. The fund manager will only resume offering loans and rolling over existing debt once it has determined that what it sees as proper oversight and governance at the companies have been restored.