Business 7

Tschudi produces copper again Consolidated Copper Corp (CCC) has successfully restarted the Tschudi copper plant, producing LME Grade A copper cathode in Namibia for the first time in four years. The restart creates more than 60 Namibian jobs, with 75% of refurbishment capital contracted to local Namibian suppliers, CCC said today. According to the company, the production marks the initiation of CCC’s strategy to enhance Namibia’s copper industry through the restart of three brownfield mines, backed by sustainable domestic processing. “Tschudi has the potential to rival the great copper mines of the Central African Copper Belt. Yet, the true measure of our success will lie in the benefits experienced by the local community and our contribution to the clean energy value chain,” said CCC CEO John Sisay. #namibia #mining #copper

DBN, Environmental Investment Fund ink agreement The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) today signed an agreement aimed at collaborating with regards to the “Accreditation of Direct Access Entities in Namibia” project. The partnership between EIF Namibia and DBN is poised to strengthen the capacity of Namibian institutions to access international climate finance directly. The NAM-RS-006 project aims to support the accreditation of Namibian entities as direct access entities under global climate funds, thereby enhancing the country's ability to finance and implement critical climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. The agreement was signed today by Benedict Libanda, CEO of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia, and Dr. John Steytler, CEO of the DBN. "This MoU marks a pivotal moment in Namibia’s journey towards sustainable development and climate resilience. By pooling our resources and expertise with the Development Bank of Namibia, we are reinforcing our commitment to ensuring that Namibia can effectively access and utilize global climate finance to drive our national climate agenda," Libanda commented. "Our partnership with EIF through this MoU will enable us to play a key role in supporting the accreditation of direct access entities, which is essential for unlocking much-needed climate finance to address the pressing environmental challenges our country faces," Steytler added. #namibia #development #financing #climatechange #climatefinance

Namibians can’t afford medical aid More than eight in 10 Namibians say they do not have any medical aid coverage, according to the latest Afrobarometer survey. Of the 15% who enjoy medical aid coverage, almost half are covered by private health insurance, while the other half are covered by a public sector insurance scheme or national health insurance. 74% of citizens who lack health insurance cite its unaffordability as the primary reason for not having medical aid.  More than three-fourths (78%) of citizens say they worry “somewhat” or “a lot” that they or someone in their family will get sick and will be unable to obtain or afford needed medical care.  The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by Survey Warehouse Namibia, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1 200 adult Namibians in March this year. #namibia #afrobarometer #medicalaid #costofliving

#Business7 show snippet How will the income tax relief promised by government impact inflation in Namibia? Bank of Namibia (BoN) governor Johannes !Gawaxab explains. The bill on tax relief was recently tabled in parliament and provides for the exemption of all individual taxpayers on the first N$100 000 of their income. Click here to watch the full programme: https://q.my.na/CMFG #Business7 is powered by #AlexForbes #BankWindhoek #FNBNamibia #Liberty Follow all of our programmes on oneuptwo.com or DStv (285) and GOtv (25) in Namibia.

FirstRand Namibia banks on profit rise Locally-listed FirstRand Namibia expects its earnings and headline earnings for the year ended 30 June 2024 to be between 7% and 12% higher than its previous financial year. “The main drivers of the increase in headline earnings are customer growth, credit extended during the period and higher transaction volumes,” FirstRand Namibia said in a trading statement on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX). The group, with FNB Namibia as its flagship brand, is listed on the Local Index of the NSX.  FirstRand Namibia’s audited financial results will be released on or about 12 September.

WATCH Media and officials were invited to a tour of the new wine packaging line at Namibia Breweries Ltd (NBL) and witnessed the official opening of the line. The opening is followed by a event where Pres Nangolo Mbumba, NBL managing director Peter Simons and NBL chairman Vetumbuavi Mungunda and will give speeches.

Local juice hits Zimbabwean shelves Namibia Dairies, a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List Group (O&L), has confirmed its first export shipment of juice to Zimbabwe. The Rietfontein Long Life juices, recently launched under the umbrella of its flagship nectar range, were dispatched last month, Namibia Dairies said in a statement. The development follows nearly eight months of extensive discussions and groundwork with company partners and regulating agencies to ensure compliance with all necessary export and import requirements. “This milestone expands Namibia Dairies’ footprint into the Southern African Development Community (SADC), opening opportunities that align with the organisation’s Vision for 2029,” the company said.

Tourism continues strong performance A total of 49 534 passengers arrived in Namibia last month, the highest figure recorded this year and the highest since October last year, Simonis Storm (SS) says in their analysis of the latest Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) data. Of these arrivals, 44% were international travellers, 45% were regional and the remaining 11% were domestic passengers, SS adds.  The national occupancy rate stood at 59.7% last month, a slight decrease from 60.8% a year ago, and closely aligned with the 59.6% rate recorded in July 2019. “As usual, Europeans represented the largest share of visitors, accounting for 66.3%, followed by Namibians at 16.4%.  “The proportion of Namibians declined from 22.55% in June 2024, likely due to the current period not being a holiday season in Namibia, which traditionally results in lower domestic travel during these months,” SS says. #namibia #tourism

Local content policy to benefit all Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo says the government will ensure that investor confidence in Namibia is not eroded while also ensuring that Namibians fully benefit from the recently discovered oil and gas resources as it works on finalising the local content policy. A local content policy is being developed to safeguard equity and inclusion in the oil and gas industry while ensuring that the policy benefits all involved—international investors as well as ordinary Namibians. "The draft policy outlines a pathway for Namibian citizens and companies to benefit from our natural resources by increasing their participation in the oil and gas industry, from exploration and production to the entire industry’s value chain," Alweendo said, referring to efforts to ensure a fair distribution of Namibia's potential oil and gas wealth. Read the full report here: https://q.my.na/DL70 #namibia #oilandgas #MiningConference2024

Namcor lists Namibia's oil production strengths National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR NAMIBIA) interim managing director Ebson Uanguta says Namibia could be handling as much as 500 000 barrels of oil per day once production peaks in the 2030s. Uanguta made these comments following the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) oil and gas conference, stating that Namibia stands on the cusp of becoming one of the top five oil-producing countries on the continent. “Namibia could become a net exporter of crude oil in the early 2030s when several projects reach their production peaks,” Uanguta said. Read the full report here: https://q.my.na/PYED #namibia #oilandgas #MiningConference2024