South Africa’s Eskom signs $1.5 billion loan agreement with China

South Africa’s state power utility Eskom signed a $1.5 billion (19.6 billion rand) loan agreement with China Development Bank on Thursday to finance the Medupi coal power plant, its acting chief executive said.

“The conclusion of this second loan agreement continues to demonstrate financial market confidence in Eskom and South Africa notwithstanding the challenging market conditions,” Eskom’s Johnny Dladla told reporters at the signing ceremony.

Eskom’s chief financial officer Anoj Singh said the Chinese loan would be paid back over 15 years. He expected Eskom’s debt to peak at 500 billion rand, up from 300 billion rand currently.