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The annual inflation in Zone 1 (Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati) rate stood at 5.9% during December 2023 compared to 6.5% registered during December of the preceding year. The slowdown in the annual inflation rate emanated mainly from the slow increases registered in the price levels of transport (from 13.9% to 4.5%); food and non-alcoholic beverages (from 12.5% to 6.4%); hotels cafes, and restaurants (from 5.7% to 2.4%) and clothing and footwear (from 3.9% to 1.6%). On a monthly basis, the inflation rate registered a decline of 0.2% compared to 0.3% recorded during the preceding month. In Zone…

Rapaport has outlined five developments to watch this year. These include US sanctions on Russia that came a long way in 2023, with US President Joe Biden signing an order banning Russian diamonds even if they were manufactured in a third country. The European Union has also announced sanctions and outlined some of the rules for how they will work. However, many unanswered questions remain. It’s likely that 2024 will shed more light on the finer details. The other issue is the De Beers-Botswana deal. Following long and sometimes strained negotiations, the government of Botswana has reached an agreement with…

The Board of Debswana, the 50:50 diamond mining joint venture between De Beers Group and the Government of the Republic of Botswana, has announced that it had approved investment for a key development phase of the Jwaneng underground project, paving the way for the world’s most valuable diamond mine to transition from open pit to underground operations. The US$1 billion (BWP 13.6 billion) investment in this phase of works, known as the Exploration Access Development Phase, is for establishing a drilling platform to facilitate comprehensive sampling of the kimberlite pipes, delivering the early access decline for the underground mine and…

Auto executives around the world are entering 2024 with less confidence that the industry will achieve more profitable growth over the next five years, according to the latest KPMG Global Automotive Executive Survey. The survey of more than 1000 senior executives in thirty countries and territories reveals a dip in optimism as the sector deals with concerns over the global economy and rising costs. Overall, just 34% of executives said they are extremely confident versus 41% in the previous year. In Japan, the share of executives surveyed who are extremely confident dropped from 32% last year to 10% in the…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for November 2023 global air cargo markets indicating the strongest year-on-year growth in roughly two years. This is partly due to weakness in November 2022, but also reflects a fourth consecutive month of strengthening demand for air cargo. Global demand for air cargo, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), increased by 8.3% compared to November 2022. For international operations, demand growth was 8.1%. Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), was up 13.7% compared to November 2022 (+11.6% for international operations). Most of the capacity growth continues to be attributable to the…