How South Africa could tap its R500bn reserves
A large global hedge fund is urging South Africa to use some of its foreign exchange contingency reserve to reduce debt and the high premium attached to government borrowing, but the Reserve Bank is taking a cautious approach
A London-based hedge fund has entered the highly charged debate on whether South Africa should tap the R497bn gains in its Gold & Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account (GFECRA), showing how it could be done in a way that protects the Reserve Bank’s balance sheet while slashing the government’s debt burden and interest bill.
Since the FM broke the story that the Bank is the custodian of a R497bn “pot” of cash (the GFECRA), reaction has been divided between those who would have the government urgently tap into these reserves to lessen its fiscal constraint and those who believe they should remain sacrosanct...
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