Eskom bonds rise on Treasury plan to transfer up to two-thirds of debt

Eskom’s dollar-denominated bonds rose on Wednesday, after the National Treasury said the government would take on part of the struggling state-owned power utility’s $22bn debt.

The Treasury said in its medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) that it could take on between a third and two-thirds of the utility’s debt, but it did not commit to specific details or a time frame.

Eskom’s 2028 dollar-denominated bond rose 3.136c to 87.465c on the dollar by midafternoon, according to Tredeweb data, its highest price for a month and the best performer among the utility’s dollar bonds.

Eskom has been mired in financial crisis for years and is struggling with electricity outages that have reached record levels this year, worsening a situation that has been a persistent drag on economic growth.

A decision has not been taken on whether the government will only take on guaranteed Eskom debt or also some non-guaranteed debt, finance minister Enoch Godongwana told reporters on Wednesday, saying all options were open for discussion.

The Treasury said it still needed to consult with lenders and that the final debt plan would be hammered out in talks with them between now and the February budget.

A debt swap is the likeliest option, Kieran Curtis, head of emerging markets local currency debt at Abrdn said, adding that the announcement was positive for bondholders.

“The reason they don’t know how much they are going to do is they don’t know yet exactly how many (bondholders) will take this up,” he said. “It will have to be done by willing sellers. (The government) will not want it classified as a distressed exchange or to look like a restructuring in any way whatsoever.”

Reuters