In the local market this week, the NSX Local index was down 1.42% at 505.1, and the NSX Overall Index was up 2.79% at 1883.5. As at 5 April 2022, Namibia Breweries was the largest local company on the exchange, with market capitalization of N$ 9.3 billion, followed by FirstRand Namibia Limited with N$ 7.9 billion, Capricorn Group Limited with N$ 7.2 billion and Mobile Telecommunications Limited with N$ 5.6 billion. FirstRand Namibia Limited lead the market this week, closing at N$ 29.51 per share after growth of 0.0%. In terms of volume Namibia Breweries lead the market with N$ 3.4 million worth of shares traded, with Capricorn Group Limited in second place with N$ 0.5 million worth of shares traded. The local currency lost 0.67% against the US Dollar, to close at N$ 14.63 per USD, and lost 0.47% against the British Pound, to close at N$ 19.11 per GBP. It closed at N$ 19.11 against the Euro, a gain of 0.99%.
The Namibia Statistics Agency released the preliminary National Accounts for 2021, and indicated that Namibia saw growth for the year of 2.4%, compared to a contraction of 7.9% in 2020. Three sectors that grew significantly were the Mining sector, growing by 13.6% compared to a 15% contractions the prior year, the Hospitality sector, which saw growth of 10.4% compared to a 30.4% contraction the prior year, and the Retail sector, which grew by 6.1% compared to a 11.7% contraction the prior year. The Construction sector contracted by 10.2%, continuing its contraction last year of 11.8%, with the financial Services sector also contracting by 5.3%, with its contraction last year being 12.8%. Namibia recorded a Balance of Trade deficit of N$ 31.4 billion, with exports amounting to N$ 57.8 billion for the year, and imports amounting to N$ 89.2 billion.
