NAMIBIA recorded stronger foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the third quarter of 2025, with net inflows rising to N$6.6 billion, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) says.
The increase marked a modest rise from N$6.5 billion in the previous quarter and N$5.4 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024, reflecting both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth.
The central bank says the improvement in FDI was primarily driven by increased uptake of intercompany loans by foreign-owned entities operating in the mining sector.
“Despite the increase, equity inflows from oil exploration companies declined, as drilling activities eased, with most operators transitioning to the data evaluation and development phase ahead of final investment decisions,” the BoN says in its quarterly bulletin.
In contrast, net portfolio investment recorded a sharp turnaround, with outflows rising to N$5.7 billion, up from N$3.6 billion in the previous quarter and reversing a net inflow of N$4.1 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2024.
The increase in portfolio outflows was largely attributed to higher investment in foreign debt securities, supported by excess liquidity in the domestic market following government coupon payments and bond redemptions.
This environment encouraged resident institutional investors and deposit-taking corporations to increase investments in debt securities within the Common Monetary Area and the United States.
Other investment flows also recorded a larger net outflow on both an annual and quarterly basis. During the quarter under review, other investments posted a net outflow of N$3.5 billion, compared with an inflow of N$1.1 billion in the preceding quarter and an outflow of N$2.8 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
“The rise in outflows was chiefly driven by higher foreign deposits placed by deposit-taking corporations, alongside increased foreign lending by these institutions to non-residents,” the central bank says.
“This was further supported by external debt repayments made by the general government during the review period.”
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