Observer Money

Staff Writer  AI is increasingly being used to deceive and manipulate victims in long-game scams, with Pig Butchering schemes becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect. These scams usually begin with an unexpected message from a stranger on social media, dating apps or messaging platforms.  The scammer pretends to be a successful investor, entrepreneur or romantic interest and spends weeks or months building trust.  Once the relationship feels secure, they introduce what appears to be a promising investment opportunity, often involving cryptocurrency or forex trading. The use of artificial intelligence has made these scams far more dangerous.  Fraudsters now rely…

Chamwe Kaira  Namibia recorded a trade deficit of N$2.9 billion in October, an improvement from the N$3.4 billion shortfall in September.  Statistician general and chief executive officer of the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) Alex Shimuafeni said the latest figures show a smaller gap between exports and imports. Year-on-year, the deficit stood at N$7.2 billion. China was Namibia’s largest export market in October, while South Africa remained the main source of imports. In September, South Africa had been the top market for both exports and imports. Most exports in October came from the mining sector. Uranium, non-monetary gold, diamonds, and copper…

Chamwe Kaira  The Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) monetary policy committee (MPC) has kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.50%.  BoN governor Johannes !Gawaxab said commercial banks are expected to keep their prime lending rate at 10.125%. “This policy stance is deemed appropriate for safeguarding the one-to-one link between the Namibia Dollar and the South African Rand, while remaining supportive of domestic economic activity,” he said during the announcement this week.  !Gawaxab said the committee considered ongoing global policy uncertainty and potential risks to the domestic economy.  He noted that South Africa’s formal adoption of a 3% inflation target requires “additional…

Chamwe Kaira  The board of Deep Yellow Limited has appointed Greg Field as managing director and chief executive officer, with his tenure set to begin no later than 1 May 2026.  His appointment follows a global search guided by the company’s leadership transition plan.  The board focused on securing a leader with strong execution skills, a proven record in delivering capital projects and experience in the regions where the company operates. Field is a qualified mining engineer and previously served as managing director for project development at Rio Tinto.  He has worked in the resources sector for 29 years, gaining…

Chamwe Kaira  The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) this week presented an overview of its unlisted investment ecosystem to the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) amid growing calls for transparency.  The fund reported that its alternative investments portfolio had reached N$24.9 billion in committed capital and N$22.8 billion invested by 30 June 2025.  The portfolio includes 77 indirect funds, 307 underlying companies and 41 fund managers across private equity, private credit, real estate, venture capital and infrastructure. Undrawn capital stood at N$4.8 billion. The GIPF has been under pressure after announcing an N$815 million impairment loss from its investment…

Staff Writer  Choppies Enterprises shareholders have endorsed all resolutions presented at the retailer’s 2025 annual general meeting, held on 28 November.  Results released on the Namibia Stock Exchange show that 93% of the company’s 1.82 billion shares were represented at the meeting.  All ordinary and special resolutions passed, including the adoption of the audited financial statements, the remuneration policy, and the appointment of Forvis Mazars as external auditors. Shareholders confirmed the appointment of Natalie Graaff as a non-executive director with full support.  The re-election of two directors drew more mixed backing. Uttum Corea received 75% approval, while Valentine Chitalu secured…

Staff Writer  FirstRand says its operational performance for the six months ending 31 December 2025 is tracking in line with expectations. The group said easing inflation, lower interest rates and gradual improvements in household affordability supported performance across its key markets.  A voluntary trading update released on the JSE noted that macroeconomic conditions in South Africa, most African markets and the UK remained as anticipated, although Mozambique and Botswana continued to pose challenges. Despite subdued domestic system growth, inflation eased, and two 25 basis point rate cuts in July and November helped stimulate demand. FirstRand said both operational and financial…

Staff Writer  Nedbank Group says it is maintaining stable financial momentum despite tough operating conditions.  The bank released its voluntary trading and pre-close update for the 10 months to 31 October 2025, showing that performance remained steady even as South Africa’s economy faced modest growth, geopolitical uncertainty and concerns over US tariffs.  These factors continued to weigh on business confidence and delayed capital investment, while transactional activity remained muted. Nedbank said conditions have started to improve. Subdued inflation created room for further interest rate cuts, which helped lift household credit demand. Investor sentiment strengthened after progress on structural reforms, South…

Chamwe Kaira Namibia’s electricity security has improved after Eskom concluded firm power supply agreements with Namibia and Botswana, effective 1 April 2025.  The agreements come as international demand for South African power rises due to drought conditions that have reduced supply from other regional sources. Eskom’s interim performance update for the six months ended 30 September 2025 shows Namibia is among the countries relying on South Africa as Eskom stabilises its generation fleet and improves reliability.  On a non-firm basis, consumption from neighbouring states such as Eswatini, Lesotho, and Zambia also increased year-on-year, while the supply to Zimbabwe decreased due…

Chamwe Kaira A new RMB white paper on Africa’s economic future highlights Namibia as one of the continent’s key reformers, pointing to its progress in digital payments and its ambitious green hydrogen plans. According to the Continent at a Crossroads report, Namibia has become the first and only African country to integrate India’s Universal Payments Interface (UPI) into its national payments system.  The agreement between the Bank of Namibia and India’s national payments coordinator will allow real-time, low-cost digital payments across borders.  RMB says the move positions Namibia as a regional leader in interoperable financial technology.  The report notes that…