Observer Money – Page 18 – Windhoek Observer

03 Oct

Namcor and SLB collaborate for suitable energy

ObserverEnergy, Observer MoneyFrans Kalenga, SLB Digital Forum 2024

Stefanus Nashama The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) and the global energy technology company SLB have signed an agreement to collaborate in advancing suitable technology in Namibia. The Namcor senior manager of sustainable energies, Frans Kalenga, announced the agreement on Thursday. “This agreement marks a greater step in our relationship towards building strong partnerships with international players, and we're excited to see the fruits of the seeds planted today. Our collaboration with SLB will play a key role in the sustainable development of Namibia’s energy resources, including recent oil discoveries, which marks an exciting era for our upstream sector,”…

03 Oct

Toini Muteka appointed as executive officer for human capital at Bank Windhoek

ObserverObserver MoneyBaronice Hans

Niël Terblanché Bank Windhoek has announced the appointment of Toini Muteka as the bank’s new Executive Officer for Human Capital. The appointment is effective from 1 October. The announcement was made by Bank Windhoek’s Managing Director, Baronice Hans, who stressed Muteka’s wealth of experience and leadership capabilities, which are expected to significantly bolster the bank's human capital strategies. “In her new role, Muteka will be tasked with developing and executing human resource strategies that align with Bank Windhoek’s broader business objectives,” Hans said. According to Hans, these strategies will be key to addressing critical areas such as succession planning, talent…

03 Oct

Paratus eying African expansion

ObserverObserver Moneylow earth orbit, Starlink service

CHAMWE KAIRA Paratus Group, which has already launched Starlink services in Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia, is actively working on expanding its low earth orbit (LEO) offerings to more African countries as regulatory environments and satellite coverage permit. Chief Technical Officer, Rolf Mendelsohn, has said the company has launched the fastest express route from Johannesburg to Europe recently. “We have created an east-west African fibre route from Maputo to Swakopmund, we landed the Google subsea Equiano cable in Namibia and have built 4 Tier III by design data centres in Africa,” said Mendelsohn. He added that Paratus is positioning itself to…

03 Oct

Reserves drop to N$59.3 billion

ObserverObserver MoneyCustomer Foreign Currency (CFC)

CHAMWE KAIRA The Bank of Namibia’s stock of international reserves decreased at the end of August by 2.5% to N$59.3 billion, the central bank announced. The decrease in international reserves was primarily caused by customer foreign currency (CFC) withdrawals. This level of foreign reserves translated into four months of import coverage, exceeding the international benchmark of three months. Notably, the import cover, excluding imports of oil exploration and appraisal activities, stood at 4.8 months at the end of August relative to 4.9 months recorded at the end of July. At the end of August, the annual growth in private sector…

03 Oct

Salt exports average N$59 million

ObserverObserver MoneyTrade Statistics Bulletin

CHAMWE KAIRA Namibia exported salt valued at N$59 million, mainly exported to Nigeria and South Africa in August, according to the Namibia International Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin. The bulletin, which is produced by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), said on the demand side, the country imported salt valued at N$1.4 million, which was primarily sourced from South Africa. Over the entire period (Aug 2023 to Aug 2024), the value of salt exported averaged N$59.9 million, with the largest value recorded in March at N$86.2 million and the lowest value recorded in September 2023 at N$28 million. For August, Namibia’s was…

03 Oct

Green light pending for sulphuric acid facility at Walvis Bay

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA The Cooperative Bulk Handling Terminal (Pty) Ltd. (CBHT) has appointed A. Speiser Environmental Consultants (ASEC) to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the construction and operation of the sulphuric acid storage and handling facilities at the port of Walvis Bay and the transport of sulphuric acid to the Etango Mine, documents showed this week. CBHT is a subsidiary of Bannerman Investments Namibia (Pty) Ltd. and part of the Bannerman Energy Ltd. Group of Companies. CBHT) was awarded an area within the port of Walvis Bay for its sulphuric acid storage and handling facility. The company manages the…

03 Oct

NBL’s beverage categories grow

ObserverObserver MoneyHeineken South Africa

CHAMWE KAIRA In the condensed consolidated interim financial results for the period ended 30 June, Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) said over the period, the company delivered well on its strategy for the Heineken transaction, as the company’s diverse portfolio experienced volume growth in all beverage categories. At the same time, NBL said it continued to manage cash efficiently given high capital expenditures, higher debt levels, and challenging market conditions. In the coming six months, Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) plans to continue optimising the combined brands, infrastructure and people. According to the company, synergies will further boost margins and balance the…

03 Oct

Bank Windhoek gets stable outlook rating

ObserverObserver MoneyBank Windhoek Limited, Capricorn Group Limited, GCR Ratings

CHAMWE KAIRA GCR Ratings (GCR) has affirmed Bank Windhoek Limited’s Namibian long and short-term national scale issuer ratings AA(NA)/ A1+(NA) respectively, GCR has announced. At the same time, the South African long-term issuer rating has been affirmed at A(ZA). The rating outlooks remain stable. GCR has also confirmed Capricorn Group Limited's Namibian long- and short-term national scale issuer ratings AA-(NA)/A1+(NA), respectively, with a stable outlook. The ratings of Bank Windhoek Limited reflect the strengths and weaknesses of Capricorn Group Limited. The group views the bank as its core operating subsidiary, accounting for a larger portion of its total assets and…

03 Oct

Oryx property portfolio valued at N$4.1 billion

ObserverObserver MoneyDebenture Trust Deed, Namibian Stock Exchange, TPF International Limited

CHAMWE KAIRA Oryx Properties has stated in its 2024 integrated report that its diverse and growing property portfolio is valued at N$4.167 billion. This includes all primary real estate sectors and continues to expand geographically, strengthening the group’s resilience to economic fluctuations. Moreover, the company said investors enjoy international exposure to the Croatian property sector through our substantial 26% shareholding in TIL. “Our primary listing on the NSX offers investors a transparent view of our performance. To safeguard long-term value for our unitholders, the policy is to pay out a minimum of 75% of total distributable income until 2027, after…

03 Oct

Inflation expected to stabilise at 4.7%

ObserverObserver MoneyBank of Namibia, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

CHAMWE KAIRA Simonis Storm stockbroker and wealth management has projected that inflation will stabilise at approximately 4.7% year on year by the end of this year. Furthermore, Simonis expects an additional 25 basis point rate cut at the December Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, bringing the year-end repo rate to 7.25%. The central bank is likely to adopt a cautious stance, closely monitoring the effects of this monetary easing before considering further policy adjustments, the firm noted. The current repo rate in Namibia stands at 7.50%, with the prime lending rate at 11.25%. Simonis said that although these rates remain…