Business

Selma Nampila is an example of a really disadvantaged Namibian. She was born 42 years ago in the village Ehwalyatulu in the Oshikoto region. 

As Namibians and the international community continue to intensify efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19, FNB says it is committed to help its customers stay healthy by banking safely and conveniently. 

In response to the announcement by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Namibia to decrease the policy rate as announced on 20 March 2020, Bank Windhoek hereby confirms the reduction of its Prime Lending Rate by 1.00% from 10.00% to 9.00%. The Mortgage Lending Rate will decrease from 11.00% to 10.00%

Covid-19’s arrival in Namibia turned the country upside down with emergency measures announced and implemented to prevent the spread of the virus within the country’s borders. 

Economists and business leaders have hailed former central bank governor Iipumbu Shiimi as new finance minister as a welcome development, given his extensive economic and banking background. President Geingob on Sunday appointed Shiimi to the finance ministry while former finance minister Calle Schlettwein, a trained biologist, has been moved to the merged agriculture, water and land reform ministry.

MTC’s Chief Financial Officer Thinus Smit yesterday outlined the financial results of Namibia’s first cellular service provider when he confirmed an increase in revenue by 4.62% to N$2.614 billion for the 2018/19 financial year.

The Bank of Namibia’s (BoN’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Friday cut the repo rate by 100 basis points, from 6.25% to 5.25% to help cushion the anticipated impact of Covid-19 and support domestic economic activity, while maintaining the one-to-one link between the Namibia Dollar and the South African Rand.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which is wreaking havoc across the globe, has the potential to significantly increase Namibia’s unemployment as it is no longer a health crisis but an economic, labour market and social crisis too.

The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has confirmed the suspension of the census mapping exercise. As per the directive from President Hage Geingob, calling for a state of emergency because of the Covid-19 outbreak, NSA’s statistician general and CEO Alex Shimuafeni on Friday confirmed the Census mapping has been put on hold until 14 April 2020, or at least until the situation stabilises. 

Standard Bank management says it continues to monitor the spread of Covid-19 infections globally and locally. To this effect, the bank says it understands the imperative to serve the Namibian public and provide critical services during this difficult time.