Eskom seeks R30bn advance

Cape Town - The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) does not see its way clear to advance Eskom the R30bn that the utility needs this year to fund its expansion programme.

This was a bit much for the corporation, PIC chief executive Brian Molefe said on Tuesday.

But he added that the PIC was continuing to meet Eskom to help find a way to solve the funding problem.

The PIC manages, among other things, the R659bn government pension fund.

Molefe encouraged other investors to invest in the power utility, saying they needed to be positive and that Eskom would not collapse.

Referring to the recent upheavals at the power giant, Molefe said these had been a good thing, because such tensions built an institution's character. His encouraging remarks followed wake of weeks of drama at the strategic institution, which resulted in Eskom losing its chairperson, Bobby Godsell, as well as its chief executive, Jacob Maroga.

Molefe said that the PIC was speaking to other investors to enlist aid for Eskom. It would also assist, but without compromising its principle of receiving a return on investment.

During the PIC's annual report to the Portfolio Committee on Finance, Molefe reported that assets under the PIC's management had declined by 6% in the year to end-March, from R786bn tot R739bn, owing to the recession's impact on the market. The PIC would, however, not be deterred and in the past six months had done a great number of deals.

Its property portfolio had increased 25.6% to R23.4bn in the period under review.

- Sake24.com

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