EWN reports that according to Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, credit rating downgrades have had a “minimal” impact on the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).  

His statement was in response to a parliamentary question posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA).  Earlier this year, South Africa was downgraded by three major agencies, with Fitch downgrading the country’s rand denominated debt to junk status.  In his reply, Gigaba explained that according to the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages the GEPF’s assets valued at R1.6 trillion, the performance of the fund has not suffered following the downgrades.  However, the PIC has warned that the probability of more downgrades for rand denominated debt into junk territory remained high.

• A short report by Ilze-Marie Le Roux is at EWN
• Read too, SA’s pension funds grow but national savings rate flounders, at BusinessLive

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page