Author

Mbongeni Mguni
Financial Journalist

Twitter: @MboBW

Email: [email protected]
  • Questions swirl as Lucara CEO exits

    Thomas left office on August 14 after five years at the helm and was replaced by her predecessor, William Lamb, who occupied the top seat between May 2011 and February 2018.Her departure has stoked shareholder debate as the high-flying miner enters...

  • Repatriation of offshore pension billions begins

    Known formally as the Pension Fund Rule 2 or PFR 2, the NBFIRA (Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority) statute previously required pension funds to invest at least 30% of their assets locally.Under changes to the Retirement Funds Act,...

  • El Nino returns: The storm before the storm

    The traditional rainfall forecast issued by SADC’s Southern Africa Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF) around this time of year, is likely to be delayed this year, but local experts aren’t waiting. The Department of Meteorological Services plans to...

  • Output plunges at Mosisedi; farmers brace for El Nino

    For commercial farmers in the Mosisedi area, their troubles with the 2022–2023 season began with the rainfall forecast going awry. Last September, the Department of Meteorological Services had forecast “a moderately wet season over the entire...

  • Green Gem introduces mindset change in horticulture

    Matsake is at the forefront of a new farming technology rapidly gaining traction in the country. Hydroponics involves growing plants without soil, by using water and water-based mineral nutrient solutions.By comparison, rain-fed horticultural farmers...

  • New buyer emerges after Pula Steel sale flops

    The developments are the latest in an exhaustive bid to revive Pula Steel, the country’s pioneering steel producer. Pula Steel closed in 2017, just two years after it was built at a cost of P130 million, strained by financial and technical...

  • Food inflation remains stubborn

    Annual inflation dropped to a 35-month low in July at 1.5 percent, from 4.6 percent in June, due mainly to the base effects of higher fuel prices in July last year and the June 20 reduction of pump prices this year.However, annual food inflation was...

  • Synthetics add to diamonds’ difficult year

    Retail and consumer data analytics consultancy, Tenoris, this week released a report that, under normal circumstances, should raise eyebrows in the diamond industry.According to the firm, in July, after months of gradually nearing each other, natural...

  • FNBB expects profit surge

    In a notice to the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday, the bank said its pretax profits for the year ended June 30 are expected to be between 15% and 20% higher, or P180 million to P250 million above the P1.2 billion recorded last year.“The...

  • Letshego mulls share buyback to shore up value

    For a long time the star performer on the Botswana Stock Exchange’s Domestic Companies Index, Letshego’s share price dropped 10% last year and on July 4, sank to 98 thebe, its lowest level in two years.Thus far this year, the pan-African...

  • Foreign reserves near pre-pandemic levels

    Figures provided by the Bank of Botswana (BoB) during a recent media briefing indicate that while the reserves are recovering, they are still below the healthier levels seen in the years before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.As measured by months...

  • Moody’s gives diamond deal a thumbs-up

    As a wholly state-owned entity, the BDC’s credit rating is linked to government’s own outlook and the related forecasts around the country’s economic performance. In a recent update, Moody’s said the country’s economy was now projected to...

  • Lucara’s finds +1,000 carat white diamond

    Type IIa diamonds are quite rare making up one to two percent of all natural diamonds and sourced from extreme depths of the earth’s mantle. The diamonds are almost or entirely devoid of impurities, making them of high value in the market.In a...

  • Budget deficit swings to surplus but...

    However, the main contributor to this surplus is the underutilisation of the development budget across various ministries, the latest data from the Finance ministry shows.While higher-than-expected mineral revenues did contribute to the modest...

  • Ministries trip up in the first lap

    In February, shortly after the announcement of the 2023-2024 budget, Mmegi published ‘The Difficulty of Spending P13bn in a Year,’ discussing government readiness to utilise their yearly allocation.The P12.7 billion set aside for infrastructure,...

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