SOUTH AFRICA/BANKS AGREE NEW TERMS TO REPAY DEBT
Representatives of South Africa's
Standstill Coordinating Committee (SCC) and its commercial bank
creditors have agreed new terms covering repayments of 14
billion dlrs of debt, banking sources said.
    The debt is covered by a standstill agreement that expires
June 30.
    Under the new accord, the standstill will be extended for
three years to June 30, 1990.
    There will be an immediate repayment of three pct to all
the banks, to be followed by various payments at six-month
intervals over the life of the agreement totalling some 1.5
billion dlrs.
    The three pct payment will be due July 15, 1987. Subsequent
repayments will be determined under a complex structure which
will be based on the maturity structure of individual banks'
loans, the bankers said.
    The bankers, who declined to be identified, said the
agreement also will give banks the option to convert their
existing debt into term loans for 10-years, with five years
grace.
    An agreement reached last year allowed for the conversion
of the short-term debt covered by the standstill into
three-year loans.
    Bankers said today's talks concluded months of intense
negotiations.
    They said the South African Finance Ministry is expected to
make a statement on the agreement later today.
    A review of South Africa's economy by the economic
subcommittee of commercial banks is nearing completion and
should be announced shortly, the bankers said.
    No further details were immediately available.
 REUTER
