Nam gets N$155 million FDI

FOREIGN Direct Investment (FDI) to Namibia over the past 13 months amounted to N$155,3 million and created some 551 jobs, Trade and Industry Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko has said in Parliament.

The investments came from 12 different countries, including Austria, Germany, Belgium and even Argentina. Ngatjizeko was responding to questions posed by Nudo politician Arnold Tjihuiko last Thursday.He also announced that a new investment bill would be tabled soon.The investments were facilitated via the Namibia Investment Centre (NIC) and the Offshore Development Company (ODC), he added and included tourism, mining, diamond cutting and polishing, agriculture, construction and services.”These figures cover the period January 2006 to last month and only take into account projects approved by the NIC and ODC; pending and new investments are not taken into account,” he added.”A new law on investment will come before this House to replace the outdated Foreign Investment Act.This will make provision for a one-stop-shop centre which will put us in a position to regulate the in- and outflows of investments and coordinate with all stakeholders whose activities impact on investment promotion,” the Trade and Industry Minister explained.The new law would help the Ministry to improve and simplify the process of investor information collection through networking with relevant institutions.”We enlisted the services of Financial & Investment Advisory Services, a consultancy of the World Bank Group, as well as the services of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga) to conduct a comprehensive study for [the preparation of] the envisaged new investment legislation and on the institutional capacity of the NIC.It will be completed by July 2007,” Ngatjizeko told fellow MPs.The Minister also disclosed that Namibia earned about N$850 million in foreign exchange in 2006 through exports to the US under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa).He provided the information in reply to questions posed by DTA Member McHenry Venaani.The Minister however did not state that this was less than 2005, when exports to the US came to some N$920 million.Namibia mainly exports textiles and clothing to the US under Agoa, as well as marble, granite, fish and forestry products, like woodcarvings.”We are also on course in getting the green light to export our agricultural products to the US, and opening the doors to export our table grapes.We also hope to realise the same achievement for meat products to the US in the near future,” he added.Ngatjizeko admitted that a preferential trade agreement signed with several Latin American countries in December 2004 had still not materialised.”There are still some outstanding issues both sides must resolve,” he stated.Ngatjizeko was responding to questions posed by Nudo politician Arnold Tjihuiko last Thursday.He also announced that a new investment bill would be tabled soon.The investments were facilitated via the Namibia Investment Centre (NIC) and the Offshore Development Company (ODC), he added and included tourism, mining, diamond cutting and polishing, agriculture, construction and services.”These figures cover the period January 2006 to last month and only take into account projects approved by the NIC and ODC; pending and new investments are not taken into account,” he added.”A new law on investment will come before this House to replace the outdated Foreign Investment Act.This will make provision for a one-stop-shop centre which will put us in a position to regulate the in- and outflows of investments and coordinate with all stakeholders whose activities impact on investment promotion,” the Trade and Industry Minister explained.The new law would help the Ministry to improve and simplify the process of investor information collection through networking with relevant institutions.”We enlisted the services of Financial & Investment Advisory Services, a consultancy of the World Bank Group, as well as the services of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga) to conduct a comprehensive study for [the preparation of] the envisaged new investment legislation and on the institutional capacity of the NIC.It will be completed by July 2007,” Ngatjizeko told fellow MPs.The Minister also disclosed that Namibia earned about N$850 million in foreign exchange in 2006 through exports to the US under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa).He provided the information in reply to questions posed by DTA Member McHenry Venaani.The Minister however did not state that this was less than 2005, when exports to the US came to some N$920 million.Namibia mainly exports textiles and clothing to the US under Agoa, as well as marble, granite, fish and forestry products, like woodcarvings.”We are also on course in getting the green light to export our agricultural products to the US, and opening the doors to export our table grapes.We also hope to realise the same achievement for meat products to the US in the near future,” he added.Ngatjizeko admitted that a preferential trade agreement signed with several Latin American countries in December 2004 had still not materialised.”There are still some outstanding issues both sides must resolve,” he stated.