Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira  Zeda Limited expects a recovery in Namibia during the second half of its financial year, which it believes will help improve the performance of its wider African portfolio. The company anticipates that momentum in its leasing business, including public sector contracts, will continue, bolstered by a recovery in Namibia. “Performance recovery in Namibia, which is expected to result in a resurgence of the portfolio,” the company said in its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2026. Zeda holds the licence for the Avis brand in South Africa and 10 other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The…

Chamwe Kaira  Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) has stronger liquidity and leverage metrics than South Africa’s power utility Eskom, according to a recent assessment by Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency said Eskom continues to depend heavily on support from the South African government to maintain its operations, while NamPower is viewed as having a stronger financial position and lower reliance on direct state intervention. In its latest ratings action commentary, Fitch affirmed Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd’s long-term local-currency issuer default rating at ‘B’ with a stable outlook. The utility’s standalone credit profile remained at ‘ccc+’. Fitch said Eskom’s rating is largely…

Chamwe Kaira  The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) is strengthening its ability to identify tax risks and revenue opportunities in the country’s extractives sector as mining, oil and gas investments continue to grow. According to the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) 2025 Annual Report, Namibia was among 35 African countries that received technical assistance in areas such as transfer pricing, exchange of information, extractive sector taxation and measures to combat illicit financial flows. The report said Namibia participated in ATAF’s specialised programme on the taxation of the extractive sector. The programme aims to improve technical knowledge of tax issues linked to…

Chamwe Kaira  Alpha Namibia Industries Renewable Power Limited (Anirep) has secured approval from the Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX) to delay the publication of its audited annual financial statements. The NSX-listed renewable energy company said it requires more time to complete its audit process due to complexities related to the valuation of goodwill. As a result, Anirep will not meet the three-month deadline for publishing audited financial results as required under the NSX listing requirements. In a statement, the company said the auditing process has taken longer than expected because of the work required to assess goodwill valuations. The NSX has…

Staff Writer Moody’s Ratings has upgraded the outlook on South Africa’s five largest banks from stable to positive, citing improvements in the country’s economic environment, stronger fiscal performance and a resilient banking sector. The ratings agency affirmed the Baa3 long-term deposit ratings of The Standard Bank of South Africa, FirstRand Bank, Absa Bank, Nedbank and Investec Bank. It also affirmed the Ba2 issuer ratings of Absa Group, Nedbank Group and Standard Bank Group. The Standard Bank Group is the majority shareholder of SBN Holdings Limited, the holding company of Standard Bank Namibia. Nedbank Group holds a controlling stake in Nedbank…

Staff Writer  Pepkor plans to open 200 new stores during the 2026 financial year as it expands its retail footprint and grows its banking, insurance and financial services businesses. The retailer reported a 12.1% increase in normalised headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended 31 March 2026. Revenue from continuing operations increased by 13.2% to N$54.8 billion, while operating profit rose by 9.4% to N$6.3 billion. Statutory headline earnings per share increased by 10.3% to 93.1 cents. Pepkor said the results were supported by stronger second-quarter trading, market share gains and growth in its financial services business.…

Chamwe Kaira Lewis Group Limited plans to open 40 new stores during the 2027 financial year after reporting higher earnings and expanding its retail footprint across Southern Africa. The retailer said it will open 25 traditional stores and 15 speciality bedding outlets in the coming year. The expansion follows a record year in which the group opened a net 58 stores, the highest number of store openings in its history, during the financial year ended 31 March 2026. Lewis operates furniture, appliance and electronics stores across Southern Africa. In Namibia, the group has 27 stores in urban and rural areas,…

Chamwe Kaira  The Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) stock of international reserves increased by 13.6% in April to N$58.8 billion, supported by inflows from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Customer Foreign Currency (CFC) placements. The reserve level translated into an estimated import cover of 3.7 months. Excluding oil and gas exploration and appraisal-related imports, the cover stood at 4.1 months. At the end of April, reserves were estimated to be 10.5 times the value of currency in circulation. The Bank of Namibia said this level remains sufficient to support the peg between the Namibian dollar and the South African…

Chamwe Kaira  Namibia’s mining sector sustained more than 166 000 direct and indirect jobs in 2025, while major uranium, gold, copper and critical mineral projects continued to move toward development. According to figures released by the Chamber of Mines of Namibia, the sector supported 20 798 direct jobs during the year. Indirect employment reached 145 586 jobs across the broader economy. The chamber’s member companies employed 8 201 people in permanent positions, with Namibians filling 97% of these roles.  Contractor employment rose to 11 577 jobs as mining projects continued to advance across the country. The industry also made a…

Chamwe Kaira  Telecommunications and financial stocks drove gains on the Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX) during the week of 25 to 29 May 2026, helping offset losses recorded across several other sectors. The overall benchmark index edged down by 0.10%, while the JSE all share index declined by 0.40%, reflecting cautious sentiment across regional markets. The NSX local index remained largely unchanged, rising by 0.01% during the week. Telecommunications recorded the strongest growth, rising by 137.05%. Financials followed with a gain of 251.50%, making the sector one of the main contributors to market activity during the week. Basic materials also recorded…