Eskom to Pay Nedbank R9m in Interest Before Month End

JOHANNESBURG – Eskom is due to pay over R9 million in interest to Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking before the end of July, the power company announced in a notice on Wednesday.

The interest payment notification, posted on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange News Service (SENS), relates to bond ES23 and covers the interest period January 25 to July 24, 2019.

The interest for the six months in question amounts to R911 584 597.55, the statement noted.

It is due to be paid on July 25.

Eskom, whose group treasurer Andre Pillay resigned earlier this month, has debt approaching R500 billion.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that the ailing power utility would get a R69 billion cash injection over the next three years.

Reports said in June that although Eskom is not generating enough cash to service its debt, bondholders have received a 22.3 percent return on the state-owned company’s 2028 dollar securities, which is almost three times the average for developing nation hard-currency bonds.

Nearly three-quarters of Eskom’s bonds are government guaranteed.