WINDHOEK: Namibian stockbrokerage and investment research firm Simonis Storm Securities has said the country’s total debt has increased from 91.69 billion Namibian dollars (7.4 billion U.S. dollars) last year to 108.18 billion Namibian dollars (8.7 billion U.S dollars) this year.
In its credit report, the firm said this represents a growth of 16.5 percent for domestic, foreign, government and household debt.
Government debt is now 35.74 billion Namibian dollars — an increase of 15.71 percent, while estimated foreign debt has grown by 3.81 percent year-on-year.
Simonis Storm Securities attributed the growth in foreign debt to the weakened South African Rand to which the Namibian dollar is pegged.
With various infrastructure projects on the cards, the credit report says the Namibian government would need more money to fund the development.
Corporate debt, the credit report says, grew by 27.98 percent to 30.52 billion Namibian dollars in April this year compared to 30.17 billion Namibian dollars in March this year.
The biggest chunk belongs to household debt that currently stands at about 41.9 billion Namibian dollars for April compared to 41.5 billion Namibian dollars in May.
“On a monthly basis, other loans increased by 2.39 percent as consumers seemed to curtail spending and a negative growth of 5.95 percent year-on-year,” read the report, adding that installment credit recorded a negative growth of 8.02 percent month-on-month resulting in a 3.51 percent growth for the last 12 months.
According to the report, overdraft facilities have grown by 11. 18 percent year-on-year, while mortgage growth stands at 14.41 percent.
