At the Plenary Session of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, President Xi Jinping urged BRICS countries to deepen their strategic partnership.
The summit hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and attended by Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was held on July 24-07. It was the second BRICS summit to be held in South Africa since 2013.
The leaders of the five BRICS countries exchanged in-depth views on BRICS cooperation and major international issues of common concern under the theme "BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution," reaching broad consensuses.
Just ahead of President Xi’s arrival in South Africa, China Development Bank (CDB) came in with a much needed loan to state-owned utility Eskom.
On July 24, Eskom announced that it had signed a US$2.5 billion (approximately R33 billion) loan agreement with CDB at a ceremony held in Pretoria. The facility will form part of the funding of Eskom’s build programme and specifically the Kusile Power Station.
As Eskom proceeds with its build programme, the long-term government guaranteed facility can be drawn during a period of 5 years from the effective date.
“China Development Bank remains a valued partner and a key contributor to the progress achieved by Eskom in executing the current build programme,” said Eskom Group Chief Executive Phakamani Hadebe. “This agreement cements Eskom’s long-standing relationship with China Development Bank. We view the conclusion of this facility as a demonstration of financial markets confidence in Eskom’s path to recovery and the plans to transition the company towards sustainability.”
He added that the successful conclusion of this facility brings Eskom in line with the company’s commitment to rapidly secure 62% of the financial year 2018/19 funding requirement. Liquidity levels are continuing to improve and Eskom’s financial sustainability is on the mend.
