Author

Mbongeni Mguni
Financial Journalist

Twitter: @MboBW

Email: [email protected]
  • The ace up Botswana’s sleeve at US-Africa Summit

    They may call each other ‘brothers’ and pass ‘fraternal greetings’ at every opportunity.And indeed they are. But African countries are also each other’s rivals for foreign investor attention, the kind that brings in capital, skills...

  • Top business stories we tracked in 2022

    BSE shinesAny review of 2022 cannot be complete without mentioning the performance of the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), specifically its flagship platform, the Domestic Companies Index (DCI).As at December 21, the DCI had gained 9.99 percent in the...

  • Serame sees new deal boosting implementation

    Africa 50, based in Morocco, was established to help bridge Africa’s infrastructure funding gap by facilitating project development, mobilising public and private sector finance, and investing in infrastructure on the continent.Africa50 focuses on...

  • A year in the jaws of a cost of living crisis

    One story dominated all others in the discourse about the economy this year and with good reason. Unlike other economic topics which often involve technical jargon that limits discussions to those “in the know”, inflation or the cost of living...

  • Govt tables P552m supplementary budget

    The request for additional funding comes after Serame had, in her February budget speech, said her ministry would not be inclined to accept any supplementary budget requests this financial year.“The recommended supplementary estimates meet the...

  • Masisi wants fairer debt deals

    Masisi, some Cabinet ministers, and senior government officials were in the American capital for the US Africa Leaders Summit called by President Joe Biden involving more than 40 other African heads of state.Masisi gave a lecture at the Brookings...

  • EU wants to partner Botswana’s green transition

    At the recent global COP27 climate summit in Egypt, the EU reportedly drew a line in the desert sands.The world’s most influential body politic threatened to walk out of the Egypt talks in frustration over weak climate commitments, including...

  • Botswana selected to host next US Africa Business Summit

    "The Summits are the premier platforms to bring together African heads of state and other senior U.S. and African government officials with top African and American senior business executives," reads a statement from the Council. "The Summits address...

  • BoB sees risks as inflation drops from peak

    The central bank raised interest rates three times this year in response to climbing inflation, sparking outrage from ordinary Batswana.From 14.6% in August, which represented a 14-year high, inflation has since declined to 13.1% in October, as...

  • Global turbulence shaves billions from pension funds

    Much of the losses in pension funds this year are associated with investments in the international tech sector, where downtrends in global giants such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (known as FAANG) have led market turbulence.Last...

  • Gov’t pursues P5bn in budget support loans

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) separately says its board has approved a $179.7 million (P2.3 billion) loan to help Botswana “restore post-pandemic fiscal stability and economic recovery”.While the AfDB loan is the second tranche of a...

  • Lucara expects profit jump

    For this year, Lucara executives expect revenues to range between $195 to $225 million (P2.5 billion to P2.9 billion).In a notice last week, the diamond company’s president and CEO, Eira Thomas said up to 425,000 carats were expected to be...

  • The splitting headache of poor implementation

    Implementation challenges have dogged government for decades, costing the country billions of Pula in direct and opportunity costs, but more importantly denying citizens of services and forestalling their economic aspirations.At its heart, poor...

  • Yields stabilise as gov’t raises P1.3bn debt

    At the November 25 auction, three of the four notes offered by the Bank of Botswana (BoB) to bidders recorded increases in their stop yields of just five basis points or less. However, the yield on the six-month treasury bill rose by 37 basis...

  • Jindal wins race for gov’t’s last 300MW coal contract

    In a recent announcement, the Minerals and Energy ministry confirmed that Jindal had beaten other shortlisted firms, who include Minergy Limited and Sese Power, to a contract which is conservatively estimated at more than $1 billion (P12.9...

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