The local market showed activity this week, with the NSX Local index up 0.09% at 535, and the NSX Overall Index up 5.79% at 1098. As at 9 June, FirstRand Namibia was the largest local company on the exchange, with market capitalization of N$ 8.7 billion, followed by Namibia Breweries with N$ 7.8 billion, Capricorn Group with N$ 7.2 billion, and Standard Bank Namibia with N$ 4.4 billion. Paratus Namibia Holdings lead the market this week with growth of 2.9% to close at N$10.29 per share. In terms of volume Paratus Namibia Holdings also lead the market with N$ 357 thousand worth of shares traded, with Capricorn Group in second place with N$ 356 thousand worth of shares traded. The local currency gained 3.05% against the US Dollar, to close at N$ 16.64 per USD, and gained 1.67% against the British Pound, to close at N$ 21.18 per GBP. It closed at N$ 18.87 against the Euro, a gain of 1.6%.
The Namibia Statistics Agency released the trade statistics for the month of April 2020, and revealed that total trade reduced to N$ 11 134 million for the month, down by 31.9% compared to March, and down 42.4% compared to April 2019. Both exports and imports fell for the month, with exports down by 43% and imports down by 18.1%. As a result, Namibia showed a trade deficit of N$ 826 million for the month, compared to a surplus of N$ 424 million in April 2019. China was the largest export market for the month of April, while surprisingly Zambia was Namibia’s largest import market, eclipsing South Africa.
