SAA has R1.1bn stuck in cash-strapped Zimbabwe

News24
12 Jul 2019, 14:13 GMT+10

South African Airways has approximately $85m (R1.1bn) locked in Zimbabwe that it cannot currently access due to the country's liquidity crisis.

According to SAA Regional Manager, Winnie Muchanyuka, the funds are in Zimbabwean banks.

Zimbabwe is facing severe foreign currency shortages. Foreign currency is needed to transfer the proceeds of local ticket sales to airlines outside the country.

The forex shortage has seen the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe issue an exchange control directive to banks to move funds to its coffers, in a development that is likely to further delay the payment.

The RBZ guaranteed that the funds will be paid to the beneficiaries in US dollars, a move that is meant to preserve value after the country introduced a local currency as the sole legal tender, abandoning its former multi-currency system.

SAA said it will comply with the directive to move the funds to the central bank.

"SAA will comply with exchange control regulations of the land and as such the debt will be moved to Reserve Bank as per statute, we await instructions from the bank as to how the process will flow," said Muchanyuka.

Another South African-owned company, Nampak Zimbabwe, has since agreed with the RBZ terms for its $57m (R793m) trapped in Zimbabwe.

The Reserve Bank will pay Nampak International the amount owed by the Nampak Zimbabwe in quarterly installments over three years.

"An agreement was reached between Nampak Zimbabwe, Nampak International and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe," said Keith Nicholson, company secretary for Nampak Zimbabwe, is reported to have said.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Buffalo Breeze.

More Information

null in null

Business

Section

Bitcoin soars to a record on Trump policies, institutional demand

NEW YORK CITY, New York: Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high this week, buoyed by growing institutional interest and a wave of pro-crypto...

Huawei eyes new buyers for AI chips amid U.S. export curbs

SHENZHEN, China: As global chip competition intensifies, Huawei Technologies is exploring new markets in the Middle East and Southeast...

U.S. food prices at risk as Brazil tariff hits key imports

LONDON/NEW YORK CITY: American grocery bills may be headed higher as coffee and orange juice prices face upward pressure from new tariffs...

WK Kellogg sold to Ferrero as food giants chase shelf power

BATTLE CREEK, Michigan: In a major consolidation of iconic food brands, WK Kellogg has agreed to be acquired by the owner of Ferrero...

Filmmaker joins biotech effort to bring back extinct giant bird

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Filmmaker Peter Jackson's lifelong fascination with the extinct giant New Zealand flightless bird called the moa...

India seeks WTO nod for retaliatory tariffs on US

NEW DELHI, India: India has submitted a revised proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva to implement retaliatory tariffs...

United States

Section