Alarms bells should have rung off when the Guptas approached the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for a R250m loan to buy their nonprofitable Shiva Uranium mine. The IDC should have asked even more questions when, after giving notice in 2013 for the loan to be repaid, the Guptas asked to renegotiate the loan, which had ballooned to about R452m due to interest and the repayment terms. The Guptas made the request through their company Oakbay Resources and Energy (ORE), which bought the mine. The renegotiations resulted in the IDC granting ORE a quasi-equity loan, for which the corporation received 3.56% shares in the company. Now, with the Guptas disposing of their assets, questions are being asked about whether they will be able to make the final payment of R37.5m by March 2018, especially in view of the possible closure of their bank accounts and with only R2.7m available to them in cash. In June 2017, ORE announced that its cash supply had dwindled from R225m to R2.7m.ORE a...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.