Finance charter out next month - Minister

The Minister of Finance, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, said the long-awaited Namibian Financial Services Charter will be launched early next month.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Standard Insurance Brokers

Service Namibia Centre last week, she said the process of

finalising the charter is nearing its completion, and it will soon

be officially launched.

"However, the real gains will come not from mere compliance, but

if the industry embraces the charter as a statement of minimum

acceptable standards and strives to move beyond it to truly

excellent service for the Namibian people," she noted.

 

She urged the financial industry to look at Regulations 15 and

28 of the Charter, which were promulgated earlier this year, and to

view the requirement to invest more money in the country as an

opportunity rather than a threat.

 

For too long, according to the minister, did the financial

services industry follow models of investment imposed by foreign

owners based on steady income from large foreign companies.

 

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila explained that the purpose of the new

regulations is to compensate for those disincentive effects.

 

She said the previous change to the regulations had precisely

the effect of widening the industry's horizons and product range,

while the current regulations take a step further and have similar

results.

 

Foreign investors (including many insurance and pension funds)

are seeking out the investment opportunities that Namibia has to

offer, and are making returns on those investments far in excess of

those offered by the domestic financial services industry.

 

She said foreign investors have access to intermediaries who are

ready to offer such investment opportunities, while those services

are much less available to Namibians.

 

Many of the new large-scale enterprises currently investing in

the country would much better prefer equity funding from Namibian

institutions, and would give preference to those monies over those

of foreign investors since that would both fit with modern

enterprise risk management and provide easier access to the wider

financial services market.

 

She thus appealed to the industry to take a fresh look at how

the market has and will develop as a result of the proposed

amendments.

 

"Look again at your investment models and opportunities this

country has to offer for venture capital, and see if the new

regulations might not provide the spur to better investment

practices to the benefit of your clients," she advised.

 

The Charter is aimed at achieving better representation of

previously disadvantaged Namibians.

 

Every financial institution in the country is expected to target

black ownership of 26 per cent of their entities by the year

2016.

 

By 2011, each institution should have a 40 per cent complement

of black Namibians on Boards of Directors, and at least 11 per cent

should be women.

 

Nampa

 

"However, the real gains will come not from mere compliance, but if

the industry embraces the charter as a statement of minimum

acceptable standards and strives to move beyond it to truly

excellent service for the Namibian people," she noted.She urged the

financial industry to look at Regulations 15 and 28 of the Charter,

which were promulgated earlier this year, and to view the

requirement to invest more money in the country as an opportunity

rather than a threat.For too long, according to the minister, did

the financial services industry follow models of investment imposed

by foreign owners based on steady income from large foreign

companies.Kuugongelwa-Amadhila explained that the purpose of the

new regulations is to compensate for those disincentive effects.She

said the previous change to the regulations had precisely the

effect of widening the industry's horizons and product range, while

the current regulations take a step further and have similar

results.Foreign investors (including many insurance and pension

funds) are seeking out the investment opportunities that Namibia

has to offer, and are making returns on those investments far in

excess of those offered by the domestic financial services

industry.She said foreign investors have access to intermediaries

who are ready to offer such investment opportunities, while those

services are much less available to Namibians.Many of the new

large-scale enterprises currently investing in the country would

much better prefer equity funding from Namibian institutions, and

would give preference to those monies over those of foreign

investors since that would both fit with modern enterprise risk

management and provide easier access to the wider financial

services market.She thus appealed to the industry to take a fresh

look at how the market has and will develop as a result of the

proposed amendments."Look again at your investment models and

opportunities this country has to offer for venture capital, and

see if the new regulations might not provide the spur to better

investment practices to the benefit of your clients," she

advised.The Charter is aimed at achieving better representation of

previously disadvantaged Namibians.Every financial institution in

the country is expected to target black ownership of 26 per cent of

their entities by the year 2016.By 2011, each institution should

have a 40 per cent complement of black Namibians on Boards of

Directors, and at least 11 per cent should be women.Nampa

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