SA named best country for debt management

South Africa has been named the best country for debt management and sovereign bond issuance in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Emerging Markets Newspaper, an affiliate of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings, named South Africa the best country for debt management/sovereign bond Issuance in sub-Saharan Africa. This comes just after the World Bank also acknowledged South Africa’s excellence in debt dynamics/composition,” said National Treasury in a statement on Sunday.

Speaking after receiving the award in Washington on Saturday, Deputy Director-General of Assets and Liability Management at National Treasury, Anthony Julies, said the endorsement by the paper is testament to the success the country continues to enjoy in global capital markets.

Julies said South Africa’s deep capital market system, credible judiciary and strong banking system built confidence in investors.

“This is partly the results of the regular engagements that investors have with senior policymakers, which ensures that there is constant communication on key policy issues which are pertinent to investors.

“The country is not only recognised for the ‘quality of the deal’ (price and duration) but also National Treasury’s professionalism in debt management operations (operational, and sustainable composition of the sovereign debt portfolio), a continuance of its debt management commitment, given challenging political and economic environment globally and domestically,” said Julies.