Latest news with #BankofNamibia
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Namibia central bank holds interest rates steady to support economy, rand peg
Namibia's central bank left its main interest rate unchanged for a third straight policy meeting on Wednesday, and said it wanted to safeguard the peg between the local currency and the South African rand while supporting the domestic economy. South Africa, whose economy is closely interlinked with Namibia's, reduced its rate by 25 basis points last month. "Maintaining the repo rate unchanged, while the anchor country's repo rate was reduced in July, was a further step towards narrowing the interest differential between Namibia and South Africa," said Bank of Namibia governor Johannes !Gawaxab. !Gawaxab said Namibia's rate, now 25 basis points lower than South Africa's, struck a balance between fostering local economic growth and sustaining stable capital flows. The bank lowered inflation forecasts for 2025 and 2026 by 0.1 percentage points on Wednesday to 3.8% and 4.2% respectively, to reflect lower crude oil price assumptions. Inflation in the southern African country stood at 3.5% in July. The central bank lowered its economic growth forecasts for this year and the next on Monday, citing a challenging environment for the agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors. It expects GDP growth of 3.5% in 2025, down from 3.8% projected in June, and 3.9% in 2026, lower than the 4.0% previously forecast
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Namibia's central bank lowers 2025, 2026 economic growth forecasts
WINDHOEK: Namibia's central bank has lowered its economic growth forecasts for this year and next, citing difficulties faced by the agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors, it said on Monday. The bank now sees growth of 3.5% in 2025, down from the 3.8% it projected at its last monetary policy meeting in June and last year's 3.7% growth. It attributed the downward revision to reduced livestock herd sizes because of last year's drought, declining diamond mining and contractions anticipated in meat processing and basic non-ferrous metals. Growth is seen picking up to 3.9% next year, compared with June's 4.0% forecast. The Bank of Namibia left its main interest rate unchanged at its last two policy meetings. Its next rate decision will be announced on Wednesday. (Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Writing by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning)
The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Namibia's economy projected to grow 3.5 pct in 2025
WINDHOEK, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's economy is projected to grow by 3.5 percent in 2025, down from 3.7 percent in 2024, due to weaker performance in agriculture, mining and manufacturing, the central bank said in its latest economic outlook released on Monday. In its August Economic Outlook report, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) said the deceleration is mainly attributed to a contraction in primary industries, particularly the livestock sub-sector, stemming from reduced herd sizes, which continue to be impacted by the drought conditions experienced in 2024. Additionally, BoN said the diamond mining sector is expected to continue its declining path, reflecting weak global demand coupled with headwinds from the imposition of trade tariffs and rising competition from lab-grown alternatives. It noted that the manufacturing sector is also set to weigh negatively on growth, with notable contractions anticipated in meat processing and basic non-ferrous metals. According to the bank, growth is, however, estimated to recover to 3.9 percent in 2026, supported by a rebound in agriculture, continued strength in construction, and improved output in uranium and metal ores. Downside risks include a potential reduction in diamond export earnings, trade disruptions linked to protectionist policies, and inflationary pressures from global conflicts. Lower revenues from the Southern African Customs Union and diamond sales could increase debt sustainability risks, possibly requiring expenditure cuts to safeguard fiscal stability, the report warns.
Coin Geek
15-07-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
Namibia to launch a new payments system based on India's UPI
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Namibia will soon roll out a new payments system based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India's ultra-successful instant payments protocol. A year ago, the Bank of Namibia and the International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), signed a partnership to develop the new system. A week ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Southern African nation to seal the deal. After the visit, a statement by the External Affairs Ministry revealed that the rollout is scheduled for September. With three million residents, Namibia is one of Africa's smaller nations. The government has been pushing digital payments in recent years, and last year, the market hit $1.4 billion in value. Namibian businesses mainly rely on electronic funds transfers, a sector that recorded $68 billion in transaction value last year. UPI would significantly boost this rapidly growing market. Launched nine years ago, the system has become one of the world's largest payments infrastructures, with over 500 million active users. In May, it recorded ₹25.14 lakh crore ($294 billion) in monthly transaction value. Recently, it hit 650 million daily transactions, surpassing Visa (NASDAQ: V) as the world's leading real-time payments system. UPI surpasses Visa to become the world's leading real-time payment system, processing over 650 million transactions daily. Achieving this in just 9 years highlights its unmatched scale and momentum. From India to the world, UPI is leading the digital payment revolution! A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report revealed that UPI now processes over 18 billion transactions monthly, propelling India to the top of the global fast payments race. 'India now makes faster payments than any other country. At the same time, proxies for cash usage [such as ATM withdrawals] have fallen,' said the IMF. UPI has expanded beyond India and is now available in seven other countries, including Sri Lanka and Singapore. It has also expanded to the United Arab Emirates, enhancing local payments and boosting cross-border remittances between the two nations. The UAE-India corridor is one of the busiest for the Gulf nation; over seven million Indians visited the UAE last month, its largest group of international visitors. Back in Namibia, the new UPI-based system will play a significant role in trade between the two nations, surging from $3 million at the turn of the millennium to $600 million. Several Indian firms are pursuing business interests across Namibia in manufacturing, mining, and services. While Namibia is the only African country with a formal agreement to integrate UPI, others are also exploring partnerships. In his visit to Ghana earlier this month, PM Modi pledged his government's commitment to integrating the payments system in the West African nation. 'In the field of FinTech, India is ready to share its experience of UPI digital payments with Ghana,' he stated. Rwanda and Mozambique are also reportedly exploring similar partnerships. However, India's largest trade partner on the continent is South Africa, with bilateral trade volume hitting $19 billion in 2024. South Africa to launch its first digital ID system Elsewhere, the South African government is set to launch its first digital ID system to modernize government services. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber revealed last week that his ministry has been working on a digital ID policy, which will soon be submitted to the Cabinet for approval before seeking public feedback. With a digital ID, South Africans will access government services easily on any smart device, curbing the need to visit government offices. It will be built atop the existing Smart ID framework, which relies on features such as biometric data to boost security, but which the minister says is five times more vulnerable to fraud than the new system. Schreiber added that the new digital ID will impact other sectors that rely on identity verification beyond government services. '[The] Digital ID will also enable users to remotely authenticate themselves, laying the foundation for a digital revolution not only for government services, but also for critical private sector services like banking, finance, and insurance,' he told lawmakers while presenting his department's budget. South Africa joins over a dozen other African countries pursuing digital IDs. Ethiopia recently set a target of 90 million digital IDs over the next two years, while Namibia intends to launch its new system next year. Nigeria and Zambia have also launched similar initiatives in partnership with the World Bank. Watch: Tech redefines how things are done—Africa is here for it
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Business Standard
09-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
PM Modi holds talks with Namibia President; digi tech, defence in focus
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's discussions with Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Wednesday in Windhoek, the capital of the mineral-rich southern African country, were slated to focus on increasing bilateral cooperation, especially in the exploration, processing, and supply of critical minerals, including rare earth elements. The PM landed in Windhoek on Wednesday morning. It was the first visit to Namibia by an Indian PM in 27 years and also the final port of call on his five-nation tour. Modi's discussions with the leadership of Ghana, Argentina, and Brazil — countries he visited during his longest foreign trip since 2015 — had also focused on expanding India's import of critical minerals. He also visited Trinidad and Tobago. 'Cooperation in areas such as digital technology, defence, security, agriculture, healthcare, education, and critical minerals figured prominently in our discussions,' Modi said in a post on social media after he met with Ndaitwah. 'We also discussed how to boost linkages in trade, energy, and petrochemicals. Expressed gratitude for the assistance from Namibia in Project Cheetah,' he added. It was also announced that Namibia will roll out the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) later this year. The UPI technology licensing agreement was signed between the National Payments Corporation of India and the Bank of Namibia in April last year. After concluding his participation in the Brics Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the PM held discussions with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasília on Tuesday. India's Ambassador to Brazil, Dinesh Bhatia, told the media in Brasília after the talks: 'Given India's interest in critical minerals and also rare earth elements, we were told that Brazil is coming up with a new policy in the second half of this year, and that will open up many more opportunities for India and Indian companies in particular.' In a joint statement, the two sides emphasised the importance of critical minerals for economic development, national security, and clean energy technologies. Modi and Lula welcomed collaboration between public and private companies from both countries to strengthen supply value chains and global competitiveness in mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, recycling, and refining of critical minerals. India and Brazil signed six agreements, including on the exchange of information in the security domain, agricultural research, and renewable energy. At their joint press briefing in Brasília, Modi described his 'friend' Lula as the 'chief architect' of the strategic partnership between India and Brazil. The two leaders set a goal of increasing bilateral trade to $20 billion over the next five years. India's trade with Brazil is its largest among Latin American nations but still falls short of Brazil's trade volumes with China, the US, Argentina, and Germany. India-Brazil bilateral trade had reached $16.6 billion in 2022–23, but following the drop in oil and gas prices, it is now around $12.2 billion. Both countries are wary of the tariffs that US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose and are looking beyond America for markets for their respective produce. However, Indian officials said there was no discussion on Trump's comments during the Modi–Lula meeting. To increase bilateral trade, the two leaders agreed to set up a ministerial-level mechanism to discuss trade and commercial matters. At India's request, President Lula conveyed Brazil's support for the expansion of the India–Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement and instructed his team to work towards such an expansion. Brazil currently chairs Mercosur, the six-member Latin American trade bloc. Modi and Lula instructed their respective authorities to identify and address existing non-tariff barriers in bilateral trade. Lula said a Brazilian delegation will visit India to explore trade opportunities. The leaders also discussed cooperation in defence and security, health and pharmaceuticals, space, renewable energy, agriculture and food processing, and energy security. Officials said they also explored new areas of collaboration, including critical minerals, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and supercomputing. In a joint statement, Modi and Lula called on the international community to ensure that agricultural trade is not undermined by unilateral restrictions or protectionist measures introduced under the pretext of environmental, security, or climate concerns while respecting an open, fair, transparent, inclusive, equitable, non-discriminatory, and rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core. They did not mention the US by name. In the pharmaceutical sector, 15 large Indian pharmaceutical companies are already present in Brazil; several of these are manufacturing within the country, Bhatia said. The two leaders stressed not only the export of medicines from India but also collaborations to manufacture drugs in Brazil. Brazil proposed that the joint committee, which includes pharmaceutical regulators from both countries, review the licensing mechanism together. India also requested faster approvals for medicines entering the Brazilian market that have already been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration or the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare. Indian officials said they are keen to learn from Brazil's experience in mandating flexible fuel content and its regulatory approach. Indian officials added that the Brazilian delegation specifically mentioned importing rice from India. 'There are times when the crops here produce less than expected in a particular season. At those times, the output needs to be augmented by importing from elsewhere,' Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs P Kumaran said.
