Foreign investors dropped SA bonds ahead of downgrade

Foreign investors started dumping SA bonds even before Moody’s Investors Service finally pulled the trigger and removed the country’s last remaining investment-grade rating, cutting their portion to a four-year low.

The proportion of local bonds held by foreigners slumped to 34% in March, its lowest level since reaching 33.6% in February 2016, according to data from the National Treasury. That’s down from 37.3% in January and 42.8% in March 2018, the month after Cyril Ramaphosa became president, promising an economic revival and improved governance after a decade of runaway corruption and mismanagement under Jacob Zuma.