MONDAY, 10.30AM
FOLLOWING last week’s successful Samurai bond offer, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and his team will jet off to New York next week on a roadshow to launch a $500-million 20-year Yankee bond issue aimed at further boosting SA’s foreign exchange reserves ahead of lifting forex controls.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank is expected to consolidate its foreign credit lines next month with the signing of a %1,5-billion syndicated loan, tipped to be led by Chase Manhattan bank. The loan is expected to be a flexible arrangement which the Bank will only draw on if it needs to.
The current emphasis on reserves has led to speculation that Manuel amd the Reserve Bank are preparing for a more radical lifting of forex controls than had been anticipated. The latest moves come after gold and foreign reserves hit an all-time high of R21,8-billion at the end of May.