Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira  The Deposit Guarantee Fund by the Namibia Deposit Guarantee Authority (NDGA) delivered an annual return of 8.1% in 2025, outperforming its benchmark. The fund beat Alexander Forbes' short-term fixed interest three-month index, which returned 7.3%, resulting in an excess return of 83.5 basis points. It outperformed the benchmark in all four quarters. The performance was driven by portfolio management and investments in money market and short-term fixed-income instruments. The fund invested in floating rate notes and Treasury bills.  Floating rate notes benefitted from favourable spreads over the Johannesburg Interbank average rate, while treasury bills provided stability. Cash held…

Wandile Sihlobo  South Africa is unlikely to meet its maize export target for the 2025-26 marketing year, which ends this month. The challenge is not that we don’t have maize; we do. The demand is fairly weak due to ample global maize supplies. South Africa’s maize exports to Far East markets such as Vietnam, Taiwan, and South Korea, amongst others, have been rather weak this year. We have enjoyed better demand within the African continent. Between May 2025 and the first week of April 2026, South Africa exported 1.9 million tonnes of maize, out of the expected exports of 2.4…

Chamwe Kaira  Paladin Energy Ltd has raised its production forecast for the Langer Heinrich Mine after reporting improved performance in the first nine months of the 2026 financial year. The company now expects full-year uranium oxide (U3O8) output to reach between 4.5 million and 4.8 million pounds, up from the previous forecast of 4 million to 4.4 million pounds. The updated outlook comes ahead of its March 2026 quarterly report due on 22 April. Paladin said production at the mine has increased as operations continue to ramp up.  The improvement follows the mobilisation of mining equipment, better ore grades and…

Chamwe Kaira  The Welwitschia Sovereign Wealth Fund has grown to about N$478.72 million by the end of February 2026.  Since its establishment, the fund increased from USD 17.94 million (about N$323 million) to USD 30.09 million (about N$542 million).  The growth is driven by investment performance over time. This development comes as the Bank of Namibia (BoN) took part in the 2026 Cirrus Investor Conference this week.  The event, hosted by Cirrus Capital, brought together investors, policymakers and market participants to discuss economic trends and investment opportunities. Speaking at the conference, BoN deputy governor Leonie Dunn said the global economy…

The 2026 Namibia International Energy Conference in Windhoek highlighted Namibia’s growing urgency to convert major offshore discoveries in the Orange Basin into production, as government and industry leaders called for faster legal and institutional reforms to match rising upstream activity. Policymakers and energy executives stressed that regulatory readiness must keep pace with increased exploration, appraisal and development planning across deepwater assets. The reform agenda is focused on improving coordination, streamlining approvals and aligning the hydrocarbons sector with Namibia’s long-term development goals under Vision 2030. Speaking at the conference, Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni, CEO of RichAfrica Consultancy, said Namibia’s anticipated first oil…

Staff Writer  The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) says the meat industry is retaining more value within the country as more livestock moves through formal processing systems. The union said about 84% of the livestock weight leaving farms in 2025 was slaughtered at local or export abattoirs. This is up from 52% in 2015.  The NAU said the increase shows a shift toward local value addition. It said the industry is building and keeping value at scale through an export-focused value chain that draws livestock into formal processing. The NAU says the value chain covers processing, packaging and distribution. It supports…

Chamwe Kaira  Nedbank Namibia managing director Martha Murorua says the collaboration with the Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) reflects a shared commitment to responsible capital mobilisation. NamPower, together with co-lead arrangers Cirrus Securities and Nedbank Namibia, has listed its N$5 billion domestic medium-term note programme on the Namibian Securities Exchange (NSX).  The programme provides a platform to issue different debt instruments, including green and sustainable notes.  It allows NamPower to raise funding on competitive terms for infrastructure projects under the programme. “Namibia’s energy future requires more than funding alone – it requires strong partnerships, clear governance and long-term thinking. Nedbank is…

Chamwe Kaira  The Namibian Securities Exchange (NSX) recorded about N$135 million in trading activity during the week of 13 to 17 April 2026, with financial stocks leading the market. Weekly statistics show turnover reached about N$135.0 million from 86 deals. This is an increase of about N$124.1 million from the previous week. The financial sector accounted for most of the activity, with over N$108.9 million from 54 deals. Real estate followed with about N$13.8 million, while consumer staples recorded around N$7 million. Consumer discretionary stocks traded about N$3.3 million. Basic materials contributed about N$1.9 million. Telecommunications recorded just over N$55…

Standard Bank has acknowledged that client data stolen in a cyber incident first disclosed on 23 March, “now appears to have been published” online, marking a significant escalation in what appears to be one of South Africa’s most serious financial services data breaches. The data involved includes client names; ID and company registration numbers; contact details; and account numbers, the bank said in an updated statement. A limited set of client credit card details, including card numbers and expiry dates, was previously confirmed as affected. CVV numbers were not compromised. The bank said affected cards were being proactively replaced and…

Chamwe Kaira  Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) has listed its N$5 billion domestic medium-term note programme on the Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX). The programme was listed with support from co-lead arrangers Cirrus Securities and Nedbank Namibia. The N$5 billion programme allows NamPower to issue different types of notes over time, including green and sustainable notes.  The aim is to raise funding that matches its planned projects and financing needs. The listing followed two years of preparation. This included drafting the programme memorandum, securing legal and regulatory approvals, and working with the NSX. Cirrus led the document preparation for the listing. Nedbank…