Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira  The feasibility study for the Trans-Kalahari Railway is expected to be completed by June 2026. The construction of the railway is planned to start around 2027. In December last year, Namibia and Botswana extended the completion timeline for the Trans-Kalahari Railway feasibility study by two months.  They said the project remains on track and is central to regional trade and logistics ambitions. The Trans-Kalahari Railway is a proposed 1 500-kilometre line linking coalfields and mineral areas in Botswana, including Mmamabula, to the Port of Walvis Bay in Namibia.  The project is estimated to cost more than US$16 billion.…

Chamwe Kaira  Namibia and Botswana plan to establish a joint national airline with support from a strategic partner, Botswana’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has announced. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Duma Gideon Boko first announced the plan during the Bi-National Commission held in Namibia in 2025. “The airline will cement our relationship in the transport sector – connect Windhoek and Gaborone directly to each other and to key regional and international destinations. Just as we lay rail across the Kalahari Desert, we will also lay flight paths across African skies together,” the airline said. At the same time, the Namibian government…

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…