Namibia attracting more investments

NAMIBIA managed to attract foreign direct investments of over N$2 billion in 2002, a huge increase from a mere N$100 million at Independence in 1990.

This puts Namibia among the top locations in the region for investments. This was said Johannes !Gawaxab, Chief Executive Officer of Old Mutual Namibia, when he reviewed the performance of the local financial markets during quarter two of this year.!Gawaxab said foreign direct investments are regarded as the most desired source of foreign capital as it is seen as more stable than fickle capital flows.”Attracting foreign direct investments at a higher rate would assist the country with job creation, reduction of poverty and infrastructure development, and we should continue to make Namibia an even better location for foreign investors,” said !Gawaxab at a breakfast presentation in Windhoek.Regarding the inflation outlook, !Gawaxab said he foresaw a temporary up trend with key drivers being oil prices, currency movements and food price increases.Inflation in Namibia, he added, is structurally in a downward cycle, although some upward swings could be expected over the short term.!Gawaxab also said while monetary tightening was still expected, there were some factors still pointing to stable interest rates for the rest of the year, which include, better than expected recent inflation numbers, a stronger Namibia dollar, and gaining importance of economic growth focus.Commenting on the performance of the different asset classes during the first half of the year, he said asset classes (which include bonds, equities, cash, financial shares, mining shares, insurance among others) were profoundly irrelevant for the first six months of the year as there was very little to choose from in terms of investment performance.Cash offered a return of around 3,3 per cent for the first six months of the year.”Investments like bank deposits are safe in the short term and offer positive returns, but are unlikely to protect your wealth over the long term.Investing in the stock market is necessary to preserve and increase the purchasing power of investors over the long term, but one needs to understand the risk and volatility of the share market, ” said !Gawaxab.This was said Johannes !Gawaxab, Chief Executive Officer of Old Mutual Namibia, when he reviewed the performance of the local financial markets during quarter two of this year.!Gawaxab said foreign direct investments are regarded as the most desired source of foreign capital as it is seen as more stable than fickle capital flows.”Attracting foreign direct investments at a higher rate would assist the country with job creation, reduction of poverty and infrastructure development, and we should continue to make Namibia an even better location for foreign investors,” said !Gawaxab at a breakfast presentation in Windhoek.Regarding the inflation outlook, !Gawaxab said he foresaw a temporary up trend with key drivers being oil prices, currency movements and food price increases.Inflation in Namibia, he added, is structurally in a downward cycle, although some upward swings could be expected over the short term.!Gawaxab also said while monetary tightening was still expected, there were some factors still pointing to stable interest rates for the rest of the year, which include, better than expected recent inflation numbers, a stronger Namibia dollar, and gaining importance of economic growth focus.Commenting on the performance of the different asset classes during the first half of the year, he said asset classes (which include bonds, equities, cash, financial shares, mining shares, insurance among others) were profoundly irrelevant for the first six months of the year as there was very little to choose from in terms of investment performance.Cash offered a return of around 3,3 per cent for the first six months of the year.”Investments like bank deposits are safe in the short term and offer positive returns, but are unlikely to protect your wealth over the long term.Investing in the stock market is necessary to preserve and increase the purchasing power of investors over the long term, but one needs to understand the risk and volatility of the share market, ” said !Gawaxab.