Observer Money – Windhoek Observer

19 Sep

Bank Windhoek invests N$400m in digital services

ObserverObserver MoneyCapricorn Private Wealth, Corporate Institutional Banking, James Chapman, Selekt Platinum

CHAMWE KAIRA The branch will remain an integral part of Bank Windhoek’s business, Bank Windhoek's Executive Officer of Retail Banking Services and Specialist Finance, James Chapman has said. The branches remain important for clients who come for financial advice and other commercial services. Over the last three years, Bank Windhoek has invested N$400m in digital platforms and Chapman said the bank will continue to invest in data and digital services in the future. He told Observer Money that when the bank embarked on the digital journey, its view was not that the branch will become obsolete. Chapman said transactions services…

19 Sep

Roaming deals eyed with SADC members

ObserverObserver MoneyBotswana Communications Regulatory Authority, Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has announced that Namibia and Botswana have agreed to reduce roaming charges, with cuts of up to over 60% starting in August 2024. The new rates will lower costs for calls, SMS and data, with reductions reaching up to 94% for data and 89% for calls. The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) have told Telecom Namibia (TN Mobile) and Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) and Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTC), Mascom Wireless Botswana (Mascom) and Orange Botswana (Orange) to slash roaming prices. Observer Money asked Shoki Kandjimi,…

19 Sep

Hyphen targeting to supply excess electricity to grid

ObserverEnergy, Observer MoneyENERTRAG SE, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, Nicholas Holdings Limited

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, the green hydrogen development company has been awarded the rights from the government following a competitive tender process, to develop Namibia’s first gigawatt scale green hydrogen project. Hyphen is a joint venture between controlling shareholder ENERTRAG SE and Nicholas Holdings Limited. This week, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy informed Windhoek Money that the Hyphen’s project is being developed as the first step in the implementation of the government’s strategy for the development of a large-scale green hydrogen industry in various regions in Namibia to support both economic growth in Namibia and assist the world in achieving its decarbonisation goals.…

19 Sep

NBL profit to drop by 90%

ObserverObserver MoneyHeineken South Africa, Namibian Stock Exchange

CHAMWE KAIRA Namibia Breweries Limited expects profit after tax and basic earnings per share are expected to decrease by more than 90% for the twelve months ended 30 June 2024. The company said in a trading statement that the decrease is attributable to the once-off extraordinary gains related to the profit realised on the sale of the shares held in Heineken South Africa (RF) Proprietary Limited in the comparative year. Namibia Breweries said headline earnings per share from continuing operations for the twelve months ended 30 June 2024 are expected to decrease by less than 5% compared to the comparative…

19 Sep

Namibia becoming major oil and gas player

ObserverObserver MoneyGalp, Graff and Jonker fields, Shell and TotalEnergies

Namibia’s upstream oil and gas sector has become a focus of intense interest in recent years. The Orange Basin, off the country’s west coast, captured the energy sector’s imagination in 2022, when Shell and TotalEnergies announced the discovery of light oil and natural gas there, in the Graff and Jonker fields. In 2023, Galp joined the party, announcing their Mopane discovery, and enthusiasm soared. Until now, the Namibian upstream has been focused on exploration, and the country has yet to achieve any commercial production. However, the giant discoveries made since 2022 have changed the game and made Namibia a global…

19 Sep

Oceana’s hit by lower horse mackerel sales

ObserverObserver MoneyCommercial Cold Storage Logistics Group Limited, Wild Caught Seafood

CHAMWE KAIRA Oceana Group Limited said in results for 11 months ended 25 August 2024 that horse mackerel performance in Namibia was negatively impacted by a combination of lower sales volumes, resulting from decreased catch rates, and weaker market prices. In addition, vessel operating costs rose by 19% due to the lower catch rates impacting cost recovery and higher fuel costs stemming from the use of higher priced intermediate fuel oil for the entire period. The group disposed of its interest in Commercial Cold Storage Logistics Group Limited (CCS) and realised a profit of N$477 million before taxation and N$381…

19 Sep

Oryx expects to reach N$459m revenue

ObserverObserver MoneyBen Jooste Jooste, Dunes Mall, Oryx Properties

CHAMWE KAIRA Oryx Properties remains optimistic about the country’s growth prospects and the company’s ability to meet its target of achieving a fund size of N$4.5 billion and annual revenue of N$450 million by 2025. The company said despite anticipating short-term challenges, including national elections and global economic uncertainties, Oryx’s robust strategy positions the group for continued success. “We are well on track to meet our long-term goals,” CEO Ben Jooste Jooste added. “With a solid foundation in place and favourable market sentiment, we are confident in our ability to drive future growth and deliver value to our unitholders.” For…

19 Sep

Drilling encouraging at Andrada Mining

ObserverObserver MoneyAnthony Viljoen, Brandberg West mine

CHAMWE KAIRA Andrada Mining Limited, a critical raw materials producer with mining and exploration assets in the Erongo Region has provided results from its inaugural drilling programme undertaken at the historical Brandberg West mine, situated within the EPL5445 exploration licence. Andrada Mining said the objective of the drilling programme is to provide an initial indication of the grade potential and geology of the historical open pit area and to investigate the potential mineralisation of the northern extensions. Anthony Viljoen, Chief Executive Officer said Brandberg West project's initial drilling results are highly encouraging featuring significant high-grade intersections of tin, tungsten and…

19 Sep

Osino requires 1,1 million cubic meters of water

ObserverObserver MoneyDefinitive Feasibility Study (DFS), Kranzberg Aquifer, SLR Environmental Consulting

CHAMWE KAIRA The planned gold mine near Karibib will consumer over 1,1 million cubic meters of water, a report on the proposed abstraction of groundwater from the Kranzberg Aquifer in the Erongo Region. The proposed project is situated in close proximity to Usakos town. The report conducted by SLR Environmental Consulting said the current Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) mine infrastructure and plant designs at Osino Resources’s Twin Hills has indicated a daily water demand of 3 300 million cubic meters (m3) of water per day or 1,1 Million m3/annum catering for five million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) throughput and sustain…

19 Sep

Vehicle sales drop in August

ObserverObserver Money

The total vehicle sales in Namibia decreased to 995 units in August falling below the 1000-unit threshold. This represents a decline from 1,172 units in July and 1,101 units in August 2023, marking contractions of 15.1% month on month and 9.6% year on year. The overall downturn was driven by decreases in both the passenger and commercial vehicle segments. Passenger vehicle sales dropped by 21.8% month on month, from 564 units in July 2024 to 441 units in August 2024. Meanwhile, commercial vehicle sales decreased by 8.9% month on month, from 608 units to 554 units over the same period.…