Observer Money

Staff Writer  Bank Windhoek honoured estate agents and property agencies during its Central Estate Agent Awards held in Windhoek on 6 March. The event recognised performance in property finance, transaction volumes and specialist categories across the central region. Bank Windhoek chief financial officer and acting executive officer of specialist finance Zenaune Kamberipa said the property market recorded measured growth during the past year. He said rising house prices and steady rental demand supported the market despite global and domestic economic pressures. However, Kamberipa said affordability constraints, income pressures and unemployment continue to limit wider access to homeownership. Representatives from Dr…

Staff Writer  Old Mutual Namibia has announced that three of its senior legal professionals have been recognised on the inaugural Legal 500 General Counsel (GC) Powerlist: Namibia 2026, launched in Windhoek. Charmaine Burger, head of legal and company secretary, Charmaine Gouws, assistant group company secretary, and Marco Vollgraaff, head of compliance at Old Mutual Namibia, were named among Namibia’s leading in‑house legal professionals. The GC Powerlist, published by Legal 500, recognises exceptional general counsel and senior in-house legal professionals who play a critical role in shaping strong governance, managing risk, and supporting sustainable business growth in an increasingly complex regulatory…

Chamwe Kaira  A rise in global oil prices caused by geopolitical tensions may increase pressure on fuel prices and inflation in Namibia in the coming months. An analysis by Simonis Storm Research said the increase in oil prices could also affect interest rate expectations in the region. Namibia imports all of its oil. This means changes in global crude prices quickly affect the domestic economy. Over the past ten days, the price of Brent crude oil has increased by more than US$30 per barrel. Analysts say this increase will likely feed into local fuel prices. The report said higher oil…

Chamwe Kaira  Namibia remains one of the main destinations for South African maize exports, although overall export activity from South Africa has slowed as the marketing year moves toward its end in April 2026. Agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo said South Africa exported 39,584 tonnes of maize in the past week. About 14% of these shipments were sent to Namibia. Zimbabwe received the largest share of the exports at 52%. Botswana followed with 15%, while the remaining shipments went to other markets in the Southern African region. Despite these shipments, export volumes remain lower than expected for the season. South Africa’s…

Staff Writer A Namibian delegation joined regional leaders, energy experts and investors at the SADC Sustainable Energy Week 2026 held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The event was organised by the Southern African Development Community and brought together more than 800 participants. These included ministers, regulators, development finance institutions, private sector representatives and civil society organisations. The conference was held under the theme “Driving Regional Economic Growth through Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency". Namibia’s delegation was led by Moses Pakote, executive director of the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy. The delegation included officials and experts from government, the finance sector,…

Staff Writer  FNB Namibia has been named the Best Foreign Exchange Bank in Namibia in Global Finance magazine’s 26th Annual World’s Best Foreign Exchange Banks awards. The recognition forms part of the Gordon Platt Foreign Exchange Awards 2026, which honours banks for their performance in foreign exchange markets. Global Finance’s annual awards programme covers 87 countries, territories and districts, seven global regions and several global categories. The programme recognises institutions that perform well in foreign exchange services. Ian Erlank, head of global markets at RMB Namibia, said the award reflects the group’s work in foreign exchange services. “This award reflects…

Staff Writer  Namibia has reaffirmed its commitment to support women in aviation during the Women in Aviation Namibia summit held in Windhoek. The event brought together participants from government, industry, academia and civil society to discuss ways to increase women’s participation in the aviation sector. In a statement delivered by Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia will continue aligning national policies with regional and international frameworks that promote gender equality. “We will continue aligning national policies with regional and international frameworks promoting gender equality, including our obligations under SADC and the African Union,” she said. The president…

Chamwe Kaira  Platz am Meer in Swakopmund made its first earnings contribution to Oryx Properties in the group’s interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2025. Oryx acquired the shopping centre on 30 June 2025. The company said the results were supported by disciplined capital management and the first-time contribution from Platz am Meer. The group increased its interim distribution by 11.4% to 58.50 cents per linked unit. Net rental income grew by 16.8%. The interest cover ratio remained at 2.2 times.  Over the 12 months to 31 December 2025, Oryx recorded a total annualised return of 13.1%.…

Chamwe Kaira  Nictus Holdings Limited has advised shareholders that it expects higher earnings for the six months ended 31 December 2025. In a trading statement issued in line with the Namibian Securities Exchange listing requirements, the company said earnings per share (EPS) are expected to range between 62.65 cents and 74.39 cents for the period. This represents an increase of between 6.77% and 26.77% compared with the 58.68 cents reported for the six months ended 31 December 2024. Nictus said headline earnings per share (HEPS) are expected to be between 62.18 cents and 73.76 cents. This reflects an increase of…