South African pension fund won't be used to bailout state firms: Finmin

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa is not planning to raid the government pension fund to bail out struggling state firms, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Tuesday. Gigaba also denied reports that he told a COSATU union meeting that indebted state-owned entities needed 100 billion rand ($7.50 billion) to survive. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported on Friday that the Treasury needed at least 100 billion rand to rescue power utility Eskom Holdings, oil company PetroSA and aerospace company Denel. ($1 = 13.3375 rand) (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Joe Brock)