Namibia attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth N.dollars 13.2 billion during the first nine months of 2022.
President Hage Geingob, while delivering the 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the National Assembly on Thursday, said this investment was primarily driven by equity injections for exploration activities following the offshore oil discoveries.
“This was the highest year-on-year growth we witnessed since 2015. These financial inflows are running at a record high, with foreign direct investment being the main contributor,” he said.
The Head of State noted that it is expected that foreign direct investments are likely to continue in 2023 on the back of oil discovery appraisals, coupled with the commencement of the green hydrogen project feasibility study to the tune of N.dollars 2.5 billion.
“This demonstrates growing investor confidence in Namibia,” Geingob said.
There is still a need to foster broad-based economic growth across all sectors of the economy he added, saying government will continue to expedite implementation of supportive supply-side policies to diminish constraints to economic activities.
Meanwhile, Geingob said some people have asked what plans there are to address the high cost of living and inflation for low-income earners.
To this, he said, the doubling of the minimum tax threshold from N.dollars 50 000 to N.dollars 100 000 and the gradual reduction of the corporate tax rate from 32 per cent to 30 per cent are some of the actions government is taking to provide relief.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
