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Observer Money (OM): Describe the year 2023 in terms of the business environment? Sakaria Nghikembua, CEO of Momentum Metropolitan Namibia (SN): Overall, the business environment remained challenging. Interest rates reached their all-time high in over 10 years. Inflation also remained relatively high. Both high interest and inflation rates, have had the effect of reducing disposable incomes, putting strain on consumers. On the other hand, the economy has started picking up, somewhat counterbalancing the interest- and inflationary effects, though economic growth rates remained fairly low. On the whole, though, the environment remained positive for business. OM: What was the biggest challenge…

Observer Money (OM): Describe the year 2023 in terms of the business environment? Sven Thieme, O&L Executive Chairman (ST): In 2023, Namibia's business environment showed remarkable resilience and growth despite global challenges. Projections indicated that Namibia's real GDP was expected to grow by approximately three percent, a positive outlook shared by organizations such as the African Development Bank and the World Bank. Key sectors such as agriculture, mining, and tourism played pivotal roles in driving this growth. Investments in irrigation and infrastructure projects injected new life into the agricultural sector, while strong demand for minerals like uranium, gold, and diamonds…

Observer Money (OM): Describe the year 2023 in terms of the business environment? Emilia Nghikembua, Chief Executive Officer of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), (EN): Affordability: At the beginning of 2023, CRAN held a consultation with operators to reduce the cost of data. As a result of this consultations operators voluntarily reduced the cost of data resulting in our improved ranking both at regional and international level: Namibia holds the 20th position in Sub-Saharan Africa. This reflects an improvement from its 2020 ranking of 27th. On a global scale, Namibia holds the 169th position, showing progress from its…

Observer Money (OM): Describe the year 2023 in terms of the business environment? Andre Compion, Managing Director, FlyNamibia (AC): We saw an amazing recovery in passenger numbers due to the boom experienced in tourism. The year did however present major challenges due to astronomical increases in the price of jet fuel and the weakness of the Namibia dollar against the US dollar, due to our industry’s exposure to USD-linked costs. OM: What was the biggest challenge that FlyNamibia faced in 2023? AC: Achieving revenue that would sustain operations versus maintaining the lowest possible fares. OM: What is the company looking…

Observer Money (OM): Describe the year 2023 in terms of the business environment? Gys Joubert, Managing Director Gondwana Collection (GJ): I would describe it as better. We are getting closer to pre Covid-19 conditions. We are grateful for 2023, which turned out to be a record year for us. We continued to innovate and evolve in this fast-changing environment. OM: What was the biggest challenge that Gondwana faced in 2023? GJ: High interest rates and continued seasonality in tourism were challenging. Also increased regulation and compliance in the business environment is concerning. OM: What is the company looking to achieve…

The market capitalisation of the 30 companies listed on the Namibia Stoke Exchange (NSX) increased year-on-year while it slowed quarter-on-quarter at the end of September this year. The overall market capitalisation stood at N$2.12 trillion at the end of September, three percent higher than the N$2.06 trillion a year earlier, driven by higher share prices, Bank of Namibia statistics revealed. Nevertheless, quarter-on-quarter growth decreased by a mere 0.28 percent. The share price indices for most industries in the overall index increased during the quarter under review. The indices for consumer staples, consumer discretionary, financials, telecommunications and real estate increased, to close…

The Bank of Namibia said in the December Quarterly Bulletin that the current account deficit published in the September Quarterly Bulletin for the second quarter of 2023 was revised upwards by 53.6 percent from a deficit of N$2.5 billion to N$3.8 billion. The central bank said the major revisions originated from exports which was revised upward from N$19.5 billion to N$20.6 billion as well as services (net) that was revised from an outflow of N$16 million to an outflow of N$3.4 billion. “The changes are in line with routine revisions made to monthly trade statistics obtained from the customs trade…

CHAMWE KAIRA Namibia, Botswana and Zambia will start working on funding plans of the proposed extension of the country’s railway line from Grootfontein to Katima Mulilo once the project’s implementation is agreed by all the countries. “With regards to the meeting of Finance Ministers, the idea is to start working on the funding plan once implementation is agreed by all countries,” Minister of Finance, Iipumbu Shiimi told Observer Money. The proposed extension of the railway line has been deemed visible by the final feasibility study report, which was recently approved by Cabinet. According to the report prepared by MR Technofin…

CHAMWE KAIRA Bannerman Energy Limited, that has just been granted a mining licence for its flagship, Etango uranium project in the Erongo Region, has said to achieve the range of outcomes indicated in the Definitive Feasibility Study, pre-production funding in excess of US$320 million will likely be required. “There is no certainty that Bannerman will be able to source that amount of funding when required. It is also possible that such funding may only be available on terms that may be dilutive to or otherwise affect the value of Bannerman’s shares. It is also possible that Bannerman could pursue other…