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Investors Ditch South African Bonds as Moody’s Junk Threat Looms

  • Non-resident ownership of government debt is at a 30-month low
  • Cut to junk possible if fiscal metrics worsen: BNY Mellon
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Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

There’s still a month to go until Moody’s Investors Service reviews South Africa’s sovereign rating, but foreign investors aren’t taking chances.

Overseas ownership of South African government debt fell to 37% of the total at the end of August, from as high as 43% in March 2018, according to National Treasury data. That’s the lowest level since February 2017, suggesting some investors aren’t waiting for Moody’s to downgrade the country to junk -- a move which would see it removed from Citigroup Inc’s World Government Bond Index, sparking forced sales by investors who track the gauge.