South Africa Debt 95% of GDP in IIF Worst-Case Scenario

(Bloomberg) --

South Africa’s total government debt could surge to about 95% of gross domestic product by 2024, from less than 60% now, if the economy shrinks for the next five years, according to the Institute of International Finance. While that’s a pessimistic scenario, the country’s debt sustainability is increasingly in question, the IIF said. Taking on the guaranteed debt of embattled power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., as some ruling-party officials have suggested, will also push up the country’s debt ratio.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rene Vollgraaff in Johannesburg at rvollgraaff@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, Gordon Bell, Robert Brand

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