Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira  Namibia’s vehicle market is expected to record steady growth in 2026, supported by improved credit conditions, lower interest rates and changes in regional vehicle supply chains. Vehicle sales eased slightly toward the end of 2025, but demand remained firm.  According to Simonis Storm, this points to a stable expansion in the year ahead rather than a slowdown. New vehicle sales peaked at 1 320 units in March 2025 before falling to 1 138 units in December, down 8.5% from November’s 1 244 units.  Despite the monthly decline, December sales were 13.8% higher than the 1 093 units sold…

Chamwe Kaira  Uranium prices strengthened through 2025 as supply remained tight and expectations for global nuclear power growth increased, improving the outlook for new uranium projects. The uranium spot price rose by almost 13% during the year to US$81.40 per pound at 31 December 2025. Term prices for newly negotiated long-term contracts increased to between US$86 and US$87 per pound, according to market data. Despite higher contracting activity, global utility term contracts remained below annual uranium consumption. This points to an ongoing supply shortfall. Analysts link rising demand to reactor restarts, nuclear expansion in countries such as India and Japan,…

Staff Writer Barloworld Limited has confirmed that its ordinary shares will be delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and A2X following the completion of a compulsory acquisition by Newco. The company said Newco exercised its rights under Section 124(1) of the Companies Act 2008 to compulsorily acquire all remaining Barloworld ordinary shares that were not taken up under the earlier standby offer.  The compulsory acquisition was completed on Thursday, 22 January 2026, with payment made in line with legal requirements. The delisting, first announced in November 2025, will take effect from the start of trade on 27 January 2026.…

Staff Writer Truworths International Limited has reported steady performance for the 26-week period ended 28 December 2025.  Truworths says it remains cautiously optimistic about its outlook for the 2026 financial year. The group, which operates in Namibia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, said retail sales for the period remained unchanged at N$12.5 billion, in line with the same period last year. Performance differed across regions. Office UK, the group’s UK retail business, recorded a 6.4% increase in retail sales in sterling terms compared to the same period last year.  Office UK contributed N$4.5 billion to group sales during the…

Chamwe Kaira Telecom Namibia plans to invest more than N$2.3 billion over the coming years to expand and upgrade its national telecommunications infrastructure, alongside a tariff rebalancing that will lower prices across several services from 1 February 2026. The company said the investment will expand fibre-to-the-home and business services, strengthen the national fibre network, upgrade mobile networks from 3G to 4.5G and prepare for 5G, and improve international connectivity through the Google Equiano undersea cable.  Funding will also go to billing systems, customer self-service platforms, cybersecurity, cloud services and backup power solutions. As part of the tariff changes, Telecom Namibia…

Chamwe Kaira TransNamib Holdings Limited says the manufacturing of 20 locomotives has not yet formally started, with timelines and implementation dependent on the outcome of an independent technical report. TransNamib’s executive for commercial and marketing, Kendall Swartz, said only limited preparatory work has taken place so far.  This includes the stripping of two locomotives as part of preliminary remanufacturing activities. He said no completion timeframe has been set. Swartz told Observer Money that the cost of manufacturing the 20 locomotives and the expected savings will only be known once the independent technical report is finalised.  He said the report will…

Staff Writer The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) approved N$912.7 million in funding during the 2024/25 financial year, a marginal increase of 0.7% from the N$906.1 million approved the year before. Private sector approvals reached N$562.7 million, a slight drop from N$564.7 million in 2023/24. Public sector approvals rose to N$350.0 million, up from N$341.3 million in the previous year. DBN approved 128 loans during the year, fewer than the 141 loans approved in 2023/24. Start-up financing remained limited. The bank approved 15 start-up loans worth N$17.1 million in 2024/25, compared with 16 start-up loans totalling N$233.1 million the year…

Chamwe Kaira Nedbank Group has announced plans to acquire about 66% of the issued share capital of NCBA Group Plc, a deal that would give the South African bank effective control of one of East Africa’s largest financial institutions. Nedbank said it has submitted a formal notice of intention to the NCBA board, the Capital Markets Authority, the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Competition Authority of Kenya.  The group plans to acquire about 1.09 billion NCBA ordinary shares through a partial pro rata offer. Under the proposal, each NCBA shareholder may tender 66% of their holding.  Shareholders may also tender…

Staff Writer Sectoral job creation in projects funded by the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) fell in the 2024/25 financial year, with supported projects creating 512 permanent and 971 temporary jobs. According to DBN’s Integrated Annual Report 2024/25, this marks a decline from the 717 permanent and 1,586 temporary jobs recorded in the previous year. Job creation within small and medium enterprises also weakened. SMEs generated 225 permanent and 257 temporary jobs in 2024/25, down from 375 permanent and 405 temporary jobs in 2023/24.  Despite the drop, SMEs continued to contribute to employment across several sectors. The construction sector remained…

Staff Writer Alexforbes Namibia has been ranked the No. 1 Top Employer in Namibia for 2026 after receiving certification from the Top Employers Institute. The accreditation recognises the company’s people practices and its focus on employee development, engagement and wellbeing.  The Top Employers Programme assesses organisations against global standards across six areas.  These include people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity and inclusion, and wellbeing. Alexforbes said the ranking shows strong alignment between its people strategy and business goals, which supports long-term performance and growth. Commenting on the recognition, managing director of Alexforbes Namibia Holdings Stéfan du Preez said…