adminSOUTH Africa’s government told asset managers and banks it needs R1,5 trillion (US$87 billion) of infrastructure investment over the next decade, the country’s biggest specialist fixed-income fund said.
At a meeting at the end of last month the infrastructure commission in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office presented projects ranging from water and sanitation to energy and digital infrastructure, said Jason Lightfoot, a portfolio manager at Futuregrowth Asset Management.
The presentation was a precursor to a formal announcement of the projects by Ramaphosa on June 23, when he will launch the biggest drive to date to attract private investment into infrastructure. The government’s ability to fund projects has been constrained by surging debt and the loss of its last investment grade rating on its debt.
“The private sector is ready to fund them as long as they are well structured and managed,” Lightfoot said. Investors will need to be “compensated for the risks that they are taking..
The country’s good core network of national economic infrastructure “needs to be expanded significantly to address the demands of a growing economy”, the government said in its draft program for the event. — Bloomberg.
Online Reporter