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Foreigners Sell Rand Assets at Record Pace as Eskom Woes Mount

  • Traders cut almost $5 billion from South Africa assets in 2019
  • JPMorgan says ‘ballooning’ budget deficit will hurt the rand
A vehicle drives under electrical power lines hanging from pylons in Pretoria.

A vehicle drives under electrical power lines hanging from pylons in Pretoria.

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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Foreigners are ditching South African assets at the fastest pace on record as concern mounts that the government will lose its last investment-grade rating.

Overseas investors have sold a net $4.8 billion of South African equities and bonds in 2019, the most on a year-to-date basis since at least 1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Outflows, particularly from fixed-income securities, have accelerated since the start of June as ratings companies and banks become more bearish about South Africa’s fiscal outlook.