The freeze in global capital markets on Monday forced Eskom, South Africa’s struggling power utility, to take out the biggest private sector loan ever granted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of its efforts to raise R150bn ($15bn) to alleviate the country’s power crisis.

The company, which generates 95 per cent of the country’s electricity, said it had secured a $500m, 20-year loan from the AfDB.