Off the wire
• Nairobi bourse indices rise first time in week as equity trading doubles  • Kenya's overall inflation falls to 6.45pct in March  • Denmark launches commission for future energy policy  • Israel's interior minister face corruption investigation  • Roundup: Greece accelerates efforts to move refugees to shelters, paves way for returns to Turkey  • Gene changes may affect lifespan: study  • Tanzania to revamp national parks' roads to lure more tourists  • Helsinki lab isolates zika virus from blood  • UN chief to attend Nuclear Security Summit in Washington  • Xi calls for bigger progress in China-Denmark ties  
You are here: 　 Home

Namibia's central bank records a slump in 2015 financial performance

Xinhua, April 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Namibia's Central Bank, Bank of Namibia (BoN) recorded a slump in their financial performance in 2015, it announced Thursday during the launch of its annual report.

The central bank, declared 76.5 million Namibian dollars (5.1 million U.S. dollars) in dividends to the state for the 2015 financial year, a substantial decrease compared to the 158.1 million Namibian dollars (10.5 million U.S. dollars) declared for the 2014 financial year.

Ebson Uanguta, Deputy Governor of BoN, attributed the weakened performance to the very volatile financial markets globally.

Uanguta said this was mainly due to the uncertain and volatile global capital and money markets where the bank derives its investment returns.

Furthermore Uanguta said that growth in the Namibian economy slowed in 2015, driven mostly by the decline in agricultural activities, lower commodity prices, as well as slower growth in wholesale and retail trade and construction activities.

"The pace of economic growth is estimated to have slowed to 4.5 percent in 2015, compared to 6.4 percent in 2014. The prevailing drought and Foot and Mouth disease exerted pressure on growth in the agricultural sector," he said.

Meanwhile, growth in the construction sector also slowed during 2015, as a result of the completion of some major construction projects, especially in the mining sector. Similarly, growth in the wholesale and retail trade and transport sectors was weaker when compared to that of the previous year. Endit