Category Archives: Economic Research

Economic Research

PSCE – April 2022

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Overall

Private sector credit (PSCE) increased by N$1.78 billion or 1.6% m/m in April, bringing the cumulative credit outstanding to N$116.2 billion. On a year-on-year basis, private credit sector credit grew by 10.5% y/y, compared to the 8.7% y/y growth recorded in March. While this was another relatively large monthly increase, this month’s increase was primarily driven by an increase in corporate credit demand versus the prior three months’ increases which were driven by increases in claims on non-resident private sectors. Normalising for the increases in claims on non-resident private sectors the past three months sees annual PSCE growth at 3.4% y/y. On a 12-month cumulative basis N$11.0 billion worth of credit was extended to the private sector. The non-resident private sector has taken up the bulk of this issuance with debts over the past 12 months summing to N$7.05 billion, while corporates have taken up N$2.58 billion and individuals have taken up N$1.37 billion. 

Credit Extension to Individuals

Credit extended to individuals increased by 0.5% m/m and 2.2% y/y in April. Mortgage loans to individuals rose by 0.6% m/m and 2.3% y/y. Overdraft facilities increased by 1.8% m/m, but contracted by 1.0% y/y. Other loans and advances (consisting of credit card debt, personal- and term loans) rose by 0.4% m/m and 4.1% y/y.

Credit Extension to Corporates

Credit extension to corporates grew by 3.1% m/m, following two months of declines. Growth in credit extension to corporates accelerated to 5.9% y/y in April, compared to 1.9% y/y growth registered in March. The increase was largely driven by a 6.4% m/m increase in ‘other loans and advances’. The Bank of Namibia (BoN) ascribed the increase to increased demand by corporates in the transport-, commercial property- and agricultural services sectors. Overdraft facilities to corporates rose by 1.9% m/m, but fell 4.4% y/y. Instalment credit by corporates fell by 0.6% m/m, although still recorded growth of 14.2% y/y.

Banking Sector Liquidity 

The overall liquidity position of the commercial banks fluctuated markedly in April, with the average position increasing by N$437.2 million to N$3.00 billion, while the daily position on the 29th was down N$1.21 billion from the N$3.70 billion recorded at the end of March. According to the BoN, the change was due to increased demand at the bond auctions held during the month. The repo balance rose to N$1.97 billion at the end of the month after ending March at N$936.8 million.

Reserves and Money Supply

The BoN’s latest figures show broad money supply (M2) increased by N$1.76 billion or 1.4% y/y to N$126.4 billion. The central bank’s stock of international reserves rose by 5.6% m/m or N$2.27 billion to N$43.0 billion. The BoN noted that the increase was due to SACU revenue inflows and the depreciation of the Namibian dollar.

Outlook

As mentioned earlier in the report, the relatively strong PSCE growth in April was largely driven by an increase in corporate credit demand, specifically in the ‘other loans and advances’ category. While an increase in corporate credit demand is generally positive, the specific category that drove this increase in April is made up of shorter term debt. Short-term debt is generally used to cover short-term cash needs, and not to expand operations, thus meaning that the increase in corporate demand in April is not necessarily an indication of investment in fixed capital, but may be into working capital.

On a 12-month cumulative basis, private sector credit issuance increased by a rather substantial 292.1% y/y to N$11.0 billion. 64.1% of this increase was however due to the large increases recorded in claims on non-resident private sectors in the first three months of the year, which the BoN previously attributed to a loan uptake by one of the commercial banks from its parent company in South Africa. 

Building Plans – April 2022

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The City of Windhoek approved 173 building plans in April, representing a 12.6% m/m decline from the 198 building plans approved in March. In monetary terms, the approvals were valued at N$106.0 million, a 17.2% m/m contraction. Year-to-date 766 building plans worth N$519.0 million have gotten the nod, a decrease in number of 6.7% y/y, and 18.9% y/y in value terms. On a twelve-month cumulative basis 2,396 building plans worth N$1.84 billion were approved, a contraction of 8.1% in number, and 4.9% in value terms over the prior 12-month period. 78 building plans worth N$43.0 million were completed during the month.

Additions to properties once again made up the largest portion of approvals, in both number and value terms. For the month of April 114 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$63.0 million, compared to 133 approvals worth N$56.2 million in March. The data shows a single addition worth N$31.0 million being approved during the month, making up nearly half the total value of additions to properties approved during the month. Year-to-date 478 additions to properties have been approved with a value of N$240.4 million, a contraction of 6.5% y/y in number terms but an increase of 7.1% y/y in value terms. 35 additions worth N$10.3 million were completed in April.

New residential units were the second largest contributor to the number and value of building plans approved with 58 approvals registered in April, 5 fewer than in March. In value terms N$42.7 million worth of residential units were approved in April, a 2.1% m/m increase. On a year-on-year basis the value of approvals is however 67.1% lower than registered in April 2021. On a 12-month cumulative basis the number of residential units approved fell by 7.1% y/y to 820 and the number has been ticking down since September last year. 42 New residential units worth N$32.7 million were completed in April.

Only one commercial unit, valued at N$380,000 was approved in April. This brings the total number of commercial buildings approved in 2022 to 10, at a value of N$39.2 million. Bar one month, the number of approvals for commercial and industrial properties has been languishing in the single-digit territory since September 2016 and has an average approval rate of fewer than 3 approvals per month over the last 12 months. On a rolling 12-month basis, the number of commercial and industrial approvals increased to 35 units, worth approximately N$184.4 million, an increase of 67.2% in value terms from the period ending April 2021. One commercial building plan was recorded as completed in April, valued at N$65,000. 

As illustrated in the figure above, the cumulative value of building plans approved continues to trend downward in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. As approvals is a forward-looking measure of expected construction activity this does not bode well for economic activity in the capital in general. Commercial and industrial construction activity remains extremely subdued. Going forward we expect lower value additions to properties to continue making up the majority of approvals.

NCPI April 2022

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The Namibian inflation rate rose to 5.6% in April, materially quicker than the 4.5% rate recorded in March. Prices in the overall NCPI basket rose by 1.4% m/m, the largest monthly increase since January 2018. On a year-on-year basis, overall prices in seven of the twelve basket categories rose at a quicker rate in April than in March, with two categories recording slower rates of inflation and three categories recorded prices consistent with the prior month. Prices for goods increased by 7.5% y/y while prices for services increased by 3.1% y/y in April.

Rather unsurprisingly, transport was the largest contributor to the annual inflation rate again in April, contributing 2.7 percentage points to the total 5.6% y/y inflation rate. Prices in this category rose by 5.7% m/m and 18.9% y/y. All three sub-categories in this basket item recorded higher inflation on both a monthly and annual basis. The Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) data shows that transport prices were up 9.5% by the end of April. The operation of personal transport equipment sub-category recorded price increases of 8.8% m/m and 27.3% y/y, following the  Ministry of Mines and Energy’s decision to increase petrol and diesel prices by 195- and 295 cents per litre, respectively, in April. Prices of public transportation services rose by 0.1% m/m and 9.8% y/y, in line with the rate recorded last month. The purchase of vehicles sub-category recorded inflation of 1.4% m/m and 5.2% y/y. The Ministry of Mines and Energy’s announcement at the beginning of May to temporarily lower several of the levies charged on fuel for the next three months was welcomed by consumers and businesses alike and should soften the inflationary impact of the high fuel prices to a certain extent.

Food & non-alcoholic beverages was the second biggest contributor to the annual inflation rate in April, contributing 1.1 percentage points. Prices in this basket item rose by 1.4% m/m and 5.7% y/y. As has been the case in the prior three months, all thirteen sub-categories recorded price increases on an annual basis. The largest increases were recorded in the prices of oils and fats which rose by 23.4% y/y, followed by fruit, which recorded prices increases of 13.8% y/y. The NSA’s data shows that consumers in the eastern, southern and western regions of the country paid the highest price for 750ml of pure sunflower oil at N$37.50, followed by the central region at N$32.60, while consumers in the northern parts of the country paid N$29.76. 

Alcohol & Tobacco inflation accelerated from 4.1% y/y in March to 4.5% y/y in April and was the third-largest contributor to April’s annual inflation rate. On a monthly basis, prices in the basket item increased by 0.9% m/m. The prices of tobacco products rose by 3.3% m/m and 6.3% y/y, while the prices of alcoholic beverages increased by 0.3% m/m and 4.1% y/y.

Namibia’s annual inflation rate of 5.6% in April is the highest rate in the last 58 months. Rising food and transport prices remain the primary drivers of the Namibian inflation rate, contributing 67% to the country’s annual rate in April. The uptick in the rate in April means that the 1.4 percentage point differential between Namibia and South Africa’s inflation rates that have been in place since August last year is now significantly smaller. South Africa’s inflation rate came in just below the SARB’s upper end of the target band at 5.9% in March. With inflationary pressure expected to remain high, the SARB’s MPC is expected to hike rates by 25 bps at its May meeting, leaving the BoN with little choice but to follow in-kind in at its MPC meeting June. IJG inflation model currently forecasts inflation to average between 5.0% and 6.2% in 2022.