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May 27 2012 11:21
There's a price war raging between South Africa's cellphone networks after Cell C lowered the rates of its prepaid calls by more than 34%.
May 27 2012 13:09
The oversupply of golf estates has claimed another victim.
May 27 2012 11:49
The country's 200 000-odd Tupperware agents are angry about the counterfeit products being sold as the real McCoy.
Johannesburg - The sharp decline in the rand's value
in recent months has placed upward pressure on the country's external debt position and financing requirements, increasing the country's exposure to shifts in market sentiment and speculative attacks, says Moody's Economy.com in a research note on Friday.
The economists note that in the second quarter of 2008, South Africa's external debt was running around $76bn, equivalent to around 26% of nominal GDP.
"The short-term portion of its debt obligations were almost $27bn, equivalent to around 80% of the central bank's $34bn foreign exchange reserves. The majority of this short-term debt is held by the banking sector.
South Africa's hefty external financing needs combined with sharp declines in the rand and stock prices in recent months will make it hard for some firms to raise new capital and roll over external liabilities," says Moody's Economy.com.
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