Transnet has another portion of debt - worth almost R10bn - that has to be repaid by the end of December. Transnet told Daily Maverick it would deal with the debt in the same way it did the debt that became due in November - by refinancing it.

Transnet, the state-owned transport company that has accumulated a mountain of debt, plans to ask its lenders for a further reprieve on a big chunk of debt that is due next month to avoid a messy default and potential bankruptcy.

Transnet has already received a reprieve on a portion of its debt totalling R7-billion, which was due for repayment on 6 November 2023. The company asked lenders to roll it over to a later period.

In finance lingo, Transnet "refinanced" the debt that became due for repayment in early November, meaning that it applied for new debt and used it to replace existing/outstanding debt while negotiating new repayment terms.

This debt is held through publicly listed notes or debt instruments like the domestic medium-term note (DMTN) programme. A DMTN programme is like a sophisticated company credit card that a company uses by withdrawing money contributed by lenders to fund its operations. To raise money on the open market, Transnet would issue debt or notes to lenders with a promise of paying back the money at a fixed and floating interest rate at a later stage.

The debt worth R7-billion was due in early November. Of that, R4.6-billion, mainly due to...