News

Industries

Companies

Jobs

Events

People

Video

Audio

Galleries

My Biz

Submit content

My Account

Advertise

Railway News South Africa

Subscribe & Follow

Advertise your job vacancies
    Search jobs

    Transnet signs $1.5bn loan with international banks

    Rail firm, Transnet has agreed upon a five-year loan worth $1.5bn with a group of international lenders led by Deutsche Bank AG in its biggest funding transaction in seven years.
    Source: Col André Kritzinger via
    Source: Col André Kritzinger via Wikimedia Commons

    Poor maintenance, a lack of spare parts for trains, copper cable theft and vandalism have disrupted Transnet's freight rail services. It reported a 14% decline in volumes hauled in its last financial year.

    In April, Transnet declared force majeure, saying its capacity to provide services to mineral exporters was constrained by a lack of locomotives, large-scale theft of copper cables and vandalism of infrastructure.

    Transnet will use the loan to fund its expansion projects and refinance existing debt, it said in a statement late on Tuesday.

    "This is a significant milestone to stabilise Transnet's liquidity position in support of our financial sustainability," Transnet's Group Chief Financial Officer Nonkululeko Dlamini said.

    The first draw-down of $685m is scheduled for this month, Transnet said.

    Africa Finance Corporation, African Export-Import Bank and Bahrain-headquartered Ahli United Bank were involved in the syndicated loan transaction alongside Deutsche Bank.

    Last week, Transnet issued a veiled threat to coal exporters who had not agreed to amend transportation contracts, following its declaration of force majeure in April.

    Source: Reuters

    Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day.

    Go to: https://www.reuters.com/
    Let's do Biz