SA loads up on Brics bank loans ahead of summit
'We are trying to catch up with our lending to South Africa. It took us a little time to understand how to go about getting projects in South Africa, but I think we are slowly going up that learning curve'
The New Development Bank plans to lend as much as $600 million more in South Africa this year in an effort to spread funding more evenly across its five member states. The lender, backed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, started operations in 2015 to support infrastructure projects and sustainable development initiatives in emerging economies. Leaders of the informal BRICS club of nations will be gathering in Johannesburg next week for its 10th summit. “Our aim is to be equitable among our five members,” NDB President K.V. Kamath said in an interview. “If you look at the $4 billion we will be doing this year, we should be lending around $800 million” in each nation, he said. “I hope this year, we will hit that number.” The NDB in May announced a $200 million loan to Transnet SOC Ltd., the state-owned South African ports and freight operator, to rehabilitate container terminals in Durban on the country’s east coast. It will ramp up efforts to grow sustainable infrastr...
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