ESCOM SAYS TARGETS MET WITHOUT FOREIGN FINANCE
South Africa's Electricity Supply
Commission (Escom), which last year launched a massive
restructuring programme after the ending of foreign loans to
the country in 1985, said it met its budget targets in 1986
without foreign finance.
    The electricity company, which supplies about 90 pct of
South Africa's power, said in its annual report that it failed
to attract any foreign loans in 1986, but it was confident of
meeting its funding requirements this year, despite available
finance from abroad remaining restricted.
    The utility, which once was South Africa's largest borrower
of foreign funds, said prearranged import financing facilities
are expected to provide foreign funds of only about 300 mln
rand this year. A further 550 mln rand will be borrowed from a
blocked account administered by the South African government
for the eventual repayment of about 13 billion rand in
short-term loans.
    These are currently frozen by an effective moratorium on
repayments. The blocked account is part of a debt accord
recently reached with South Africa's foreign creditor banks.
    South Africa declared a moratorium on repayments of about
14 billion dlrs of its original 24 billion dlr total foreign
debt in September 1985 after foreign bankers abruptly cut off
credit lines to the country because of concern over its
deteriorating political and economic climate.
    Pretoria last week announced that it had reached a
three-year rescheduling agreement with the major international
creditors that will effectively extend a moratorium on most
repayments of the short-term portion of the debt until
mid-1990.
    Escom said it plans to meet the bulk of its funding
requirements this year by raising 2.2 billion rand in the South
African financial markets against a total of 1.75 billion rand
raised last year.
    "The borrowing programme for 1987 is well within the
capacity of the (domestic) financial markets, without pressure
being placed on interest rates," the corporation said.
    "Last year we embarked on the most dramatic restructuring
programme ever attempted by a major South African business, and
we have largely achieved what we set out to do," Escom chairman,
John Maree, told a news conference.
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