Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions expect Namibia’s current account deficit to continue narrowing over 2019 and 2020, on the back of increasing mining sector exports improving the goods trade balance.
• We maintain our view for the current account’s trajectory over the coming years, but have changed our forecasts for the deficit to 4.6% of GDP in

Key view:

• The national energy utility’s launch of a wholesale fibre-optic network will encourage competition in the stagnant Namibian telecoms market.
• There exists a small, but ready-made addressable market for internet service providers (ISPs), particularly if they enter the market with competitive prices.
• Although mobile broadband adoption

Key View:

• We at Fitch Solutions are currently expecting Namibia’s construction industry to shrink in value by 3.5% y-o-y in 2019, following expected 10.3% growth in 2018.
• The completion of major work at Walvis Bay Port, combined with the absence of other high-value projects under construction, will be the major driver of the contraction.
• Our

Key View

• Statements by the Namibian government that it would no longer back the Kudu gas-fired power project over high costs aligns with our bearish view on the prospects of the project coming online over our 10-year forecast period.
• We maintain our forecasts that non-hydropower renewables will be the growth driver in the Namibian power sector

Key View

• We expect Namibia's budget deficit to narrow modestly over the next two years, mainly on the back of increased revenues from tax reforms and stronger mining sector activity.
• At the same time, efforts to pare back non-core operational spending and implement tax administration reforms will also help to slow spending growth.
• That said

Key Views

• We believe the Bank of Namibia (BoN) will keep its key policy rate on hold in 2018, as upside risks to inflation will limit the impetus for a further cut.
• Moreover, stronger economic activity and increasingly tight global monetary policy conditions will push the BoN to hike rates in 2019.

Key Forecast Changes

• We have updated our