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Friday, March 19, 2010.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Schalk Burger.

Making headlines today:

South African transport utility Transnet will raise 5,5-billion-rand on the international bond market in 2010/11. This will make global bonds the single largest component of a larger 17,2-billion-rand fundraising plan for the year.

The State-owned group listed a 2-billion-dollar Global Medium-Term Note programme on the London Stock Exchange in early February. Acting CEO Chris Wells said on Thursday that it would begin drawing on the facility during the first half of its 2010/11 financial year, which begins on April 1.

It is expected that the initial foray will be for a minimum of 500-million-dollars, but will probably be for 750-million-dollars.

The capital will be deployed to help the group part fund a five-year infrastructure investment programme, currently valued at 93,4-billion-rand to the end of March 2015.

A significant increase of South Africa's current expenditure on distribution infrastructure will be needed to ensure that the backlog in electricity distribution doesn't increase.

EDI Holdings COO Willie de Beer says that the overall backlog of South Africa's entire distribution industry, including Eskom and municipalities, stood at about 27,4-billion-rand in 2008.

He says that the current level of investment in the domestic distribution industry can't support the country's economic growth. De Beer says that the right balance has to be found in terms of funding both electricity generation, as well as electricity distribution.

Also making headlines:

Zanzibar will invest over 150-million-dollars in power projects.
The South Africa-Lesotho electricity transmission capacity may be expanded.
Seacom signs a broadband connectivity deal with the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation.
And, manufacturing business confidence jumps.

That's a round up of news making headlines today.