[miningmx.com] – THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) said it had no plans to dispose of any of its listed investments in order to finance Eskom as this would send the bank with “cap in hand” to the National Treasury.
Eskom, the South African power utility, said earlier this week the cost of buying diesel for open cycle gas turbines, required to avoid load-shedding in South Africa, had meant it was quickly running out of money.
Geoffrey Qhena, CEO of the IDC, said in an article by BDLive that ridding itself of its mature investments would affect its ability to repay its own borrowings and ran counter to the objective of the 75-year old organisation.
Barclays said in a note earlier this week that the IDC had an estimated R46bn in listed assets that could be liquidated in order to provide funds for Eskom including shares in
BHP Billiton, Kumba Iron Ore and Merafe Resources.
“A complete disposal is out of the picture. Out of the eight we are taking out nothing because they are key in the IDC’s life. We have not been approached by anyone,” said Qhena.
Click here to read the full article
