South Africa’s Eskom Slashes Debt by a Fifth; Bonds Rally

  • Utility’s debt stood at 401 billion rand at end of March
  • Three Eskom units to begin operating separately by end of June

Electricity transmission pylons close to Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station, in Cape Town, South Africa.

Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg
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Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the beleaguered South African state power utility, reduced its debt by almost a fifth after repaying matured loans and benefiting from a more favorable exchange rate, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said.

Debt fell to 401 billion rand ($29 billion) at the end of March, from 484 billion rand a year earlier, Gordhan said in a webcast speech to lawmakers on Tuesday. The utility has yet to release its financial results for the year.