BoN encourages currency swaps

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) governor has encouraged local institutions to swap their foreign assets for domestic assets in order to improve the country's foreign reserves.Speaking at the central bank's first monetary policy announcement for the year on Wednesday, Iipumbu Shiimi explained that the reserves are created through imports and exports of goods.“We need to improve the export capacity and increase investment in the country for the country to increase the international reserves,” he said.The Government Institutions' Pension Fund (GIPF) moved over N$5 billion worth of assets from abroad to Namibia in 2016.Shiimi noted that the country had recorded international reserves of about N$22.9 billion by 31 January 2017, adding that it was sufficient to meet the country's foreign obligations.Shiimi assured the nation that the international reserves remained adequate to sustain the one-to-one link of the Namibian dollar to the South African rand.The governor also said the central bank had no doubt that its Angolan counterpart would honour its commitment toward the repayment of about US$426 million (about N$5.8 billion) from the currency conversion deal with the Banco Nacional De Angola (BNA).He said BNA had so far paid to BoN about US$120 million (approximately N$1.5 billion). The last payment was received on 16 December 2016.“They have been honouring their commitments and we have no doubt of that. We will update you more regarding this in April this year,” Shiimi said.The BoN and BNA entered into an agreement on 18 June 2015 to allow the exchange of Angolan kwanzas for Namibian dollars at Oshikango in northern Namibia in an effort to maintain the momentum of business transactions between the two countries.The two central banks agreed that the BNA would repay the BoN the repurchase costs for kwanzas that have passed through Namibia since the agreement was implemented on 18 June 2015. Under the agreement, the BNA has to pay BoN in quarterly instalments, with the last payment expected by 2019 when the agreement expires.NAMPA

BoN encourages currency swaps

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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BoN encourages currency swaps

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-19

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