The increase in the country’s official foreign reserves in recent years also made it possible to substantially relax exchange controls over the period. Government took the lead in reintroducing South Africa gradually to the global markets for public loan issues. A number of issues were made in the global and Yankee US dollar markets, in Sterling, Deutsche Mark and in the Samurai Yen market.
South African private corporates were also encouraged to raise funds through equity and bond issues in international capital markets, and were allowed to use part of the proceeds from such issues for financing the expansion of their activities in the rest of the world.