Windhoek Observer

The Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa has said citrus fruit quality for 2024 looks excellent, and the harvesting timing is expected to be normal. CEO Justin Chadwick said overall, an increase in export volume is expected. “This is a testament to the resilience of South African citrus growers, who produce more citrus under challenging circumstances, such as steep increases in input costs, load shedding, and deteriorating public infrastructure. This increase is also a result of younger trees coming into production across several regions.” The current prediction is that 37,9 million (15kg) cartons of lemons will be exported to key…

The prices of copper and zinc declined, while that of gold increased in 2023 over 2022. The average price of copper dropped by 3.8% to U$8490 per metric tonne in 2023. This was on the back of declining demand, especially from China. Meanwhile, zinc prices dropped by 23.8% to an average of US$2653 per metric tonne in 2023, chiefly attributed to weak demand, notably from China, Bank of Namibia statistics showed this week. On the positive side, the gold price increased by 7,9% to an average of US$1943 per ounce in 2023, mainly on the back of safe-haven demand driven…

The value of Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs) transactions processed by Namclear was significantly higher in 2023 than in 2022. EFT transactions processed increased to 27 million, valued at N$388 billion, which represents a 9% increase in volume and a 10% increase in value. Namclear is the Namibian Automated Clearing House (ACH) and is a designated Financial Markets Infrastructure (FMI) for the Namibian Payment Industry. It provides local clearing of interbank transactions, such as electronic fund transfers, card payments, and settlements on behalf of participants through the Namibian Interbank Settlement System (NISS), with the Bank of Namibia. The Bank of Namibia…

Paladin Energy Ltd has announced that uranium concentrate production and drumming were achieved at the Langer Heinrich Mine (LHM) on 30 March 2024. The company said focus will now shift to production ramp-up and building a finished product inventory, ahead of shipments to customers. As part of the transition to production, Paladin’s Chief Operating Officer, Paul Hemburrow will assume responsibility for all LHM activities. Paladin said it will provide guidance for the 2025 financial year on LHM operational parameters in July this year. “Achieving first production at the Langer Heinrich Mine is an important milestone for Paladin. I would like…

The Bank of Namibia’s stock of international reserves declined marginally by 0,7% month-month to N$55,4 billion at the end of February. The fall was on the back of higher net commercial bank outflows coupled with government payments. The foreign reserves translated into 3,9 months of import cover, continuing to remain above the international benchmark of three months and adequate to support the Namibia dollar and the South African rand currency peg. Notably, the import cover excluding imports of oil exploration and appraisal activities stood at 4,4 months at the end of February, relative to the 4,5 months recorded at the…

Namibia Breweries Limited plans to join the Heineken global platform in the next 12 months to enable the company to leverage scale for cost benefits in packaging and raw material as legacy contracts conclude. Heineken International, acquired majority control of Namibia Breweries in 2021 in a deal estimated at around N$6.56 billion. The move to join the Heineken global platform, comes at a time when revenue from beer sales in Namibia decreased, compounded by a steep decline in revenue contribution from South Africa, driven by aggressive pricing tactics from competitors, according to NBL’s consolidated results for the six months ended…

CHAMWE KAIRA The Bank of Namibia is conducting research on the potential implications for the macro economy and the potential implications for exchange rate and monetary policy by the production of oil and gas. Governor Johannes ǃGawaxab said this week that the central bank is also studying the impact of oil and gas on the management of the Welwitschia Sovereign Wealth Fund. The Fund now stands at N$425 million. Namibia is yet to start oil and gas production but exploration activities has so far contributed positively to economic growth. ǃGawaxab said the contribution expected to keep rising as explorations intensify…

Fitch Ratings recently affirmed Development Bank of Namibia Limited's (DBN) Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BB-' and its National Long-Term Rating at 'AA+(zaf)'. Fitch said the outlooks are stable. Fitch said DBN's National Long-Term Rating of 'AA+(zaf)' is equalised with that of Namibia and reflects the bank's creditworthiness relative to that of issuers in South Africa and Namibia. The government has a high propensity to support DBN, given the bank's important policy role, 100% state ownership and significant share of government-guaranteed funding. The DBN is Namibia's flagship and largest policy bank and contributes to the country's economic growth and…

The Bank of Namibia has received one application from a local company partnering with other investors seeking authorisation to establish a banking institution, Deputy Governor, Leonie Dunn disclosed this week. Dunn said the application is being assessed to determine whether the applicants meet the requirements for authorisation to conduct a banking business. Observer Money established that the applicants include an investor from Ghana in West Africa. The current authorised banking institutions are Bank Windhoek, First National Bank Namibia, Standard Bank Namibia, Nedbank Namibia, Bank BIC Namibia, Letshego Bank Namibia and Banco Atlántico. The new Banking Institutions Act took effect on…