Observer Money

Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa), Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Matomola talks about the state of the non-banking financial sector, the state of medical aid industry and new innovations being supported by Namfisa. Observer Money (OM): How would you describe the performance of Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs) in the first half of 2024? Kenneth Matomola (KM): According to the data collected from the NBFI sector by Namfisa, despite the contractionary monetary policy environment, demand for NBFI products remains strong. The NBFI sector remains financially sound and does not pose any systemic risk to the country’s financial system. Overall, the NBFI…

CHAMWE KAIRA Simonis Storm Securities expect the South African Reserve Bank to implement its first rate cut in September. The firm believes that the political landscape in South Africa shows positive signs moving forward, but economic growth remains subdued, and further evidence is needed to confirm sustained improvement. In contrast, for Namibia, the firm project the Bank of Namibia to implement a 25 basis points cut by the end of 2024. The South African Reserve Bank decided to keep its key repo rate at 8.25% on 30 May marking the sixth consecutive meeting at 2009-highs, as widely expected. While the…

CHAMWE KAIRA Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa), Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Matomola has encouraged Namibians to lodge their complaints with Namfisa to ensure a fair resolution when they have disputes with non-banking financial institutions. He explained that a complaint must first be lodged with the financial institution concerned and the clients must ensure that they receive a response in writing. If not satisfied with the response received from the financial institution, a complaint must be lodged with Namfisa. He said the complaints can be emailed, or submitted in person at the Namfisa head office, faxed or sent by post.…

CHAMWE KAIRA The year-on-year inflation rate stood at 4.8% in Zone 1 (Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, and Zambezi) in June this year compared to 5.2% registered during June 2023. The Namibia Statistics Agency said the slowdown in the annual inflation rate emanated mainly from the slow increases registered in the price levels of ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ (from 11% to 4.1%); ‘education’ (from 4.5% to 0.6%); ‘miscellaneous goods and services’ (from 6.8% to 1.4%); ‘clothing and footwear’ (from 3.7% to 1.9%); and ‘furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’ (from 6.4% to…

CHAMWE KAIRA Namibia Dairies has announced the implementation of a supplementary winter levy to support its dairy farming partners during the challenging winter season. The company said recognising the current trading environment and the considerable strain posed by the ongoing drought, Namibia Dairies is committed to supporting its partners in the dairy industry to the best of their ability. The company announced that subject to all quality specifications being met, the winter levy of 75 cents per litre will be paid for all raw milk delivered by standing dairy farming partners between 1 June and 31 August. The initiative aims…

The value of Russia’s rough-diamond production surpassed Botswana’s for the first time in 2023 even as sanctions and a weak market hindered the country’s diamond sales. The growth comes despite increased sanctions, including the addition of the European Union to the list of those banning Russian diamonds and harsher rules by the US regarding goods substantially changed in a third-party country, such as India. Last year, Russia produced 37.3 million carats of rough, with a total value of US$3.61 billion, at an average price of US$97 per carat, according to statistics the Kimberley Process (KP) in its production report. That…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for May global air cargo markets showing continuing strong annual growth in demand. Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), rose by 14.7% compared to May 2023 levels (15.5% for international operations). This is the sixth consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth. Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 6.7% compared to May 2023 (10.2% for international operations). “Air cargo demand moved sharply upwards in May across all regions. The sector benefitted from trade growth, booming e-commerce and capacity constraints on maritime shipping. The outlook remains largely positive with purchasing…

Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF)’s CEO Martin Inkumbi sat down with Observer Money on a wide range of issues regarding the operations of the biggest pension fund in the country. He talked about the GIPF’s investments, the proposed FIMA Bill and the future stability of the fund. Inkumbi was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the GIPF effective 15 January 2024. Observer Money (OM): The fund is in a healthy state at the moment, going forward what are some of the negative factors that may affect the performance of the fund? Martin Inkumbi (MI): In terms of geopolitical and economic…

CHAMWE KAIRA There are no discussions at the moment for the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) to swap to swap some of its foreign assets for local assets as the case was in 2016. CEO Martin Inkumbi said in an interview that there are no discussions on the fund swapping assets. “At the moment there is nothing like that. There are no such discussions at this stage,” he said. In 2016, the GIPF swapped foreign assets (investments) worth N$5 billion, and invested the money locally as part of a move by the government to increase foreign reserves. Power utility NamPower…