Author

Mbongeni Mguni
Financial Journalist

Twitter: @MboBW

Email: [email protected]
  • De Beers keeps its dream of the “next Jwaneng” alive

    If a Jwaneng Mine-sized diamond deposit is hidden undiscovered anywhere in the world, De Beers is confident it will be the company to find it. And with good reason.Since its establishment 134 years ago, the global giant that almost single-handedly...

  • Local firms wary of rising costs

    The latest edition of the Bank of Botswana's (BoB) quarterly Business Expectations Survey indicates a drop in overall optimism among businesses between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of this year. The survey was carried out...

  • First crypto platform approaches NBFIRA

    Cryptocurrency operators are required to be licensed with NBFIRA by May 25 or face fines of up to P250,000 and/or five years in jail, under the recently passed Virtual Assets Act.Yellow Card, a cryptocurrency exchange that allows clients to buy, sell...

  • Interest rates rise for the first time in 14 years

    The increase is the first in the country since 2008, from which point interest rates had gradually been declining to the current record low levels.The increase, announced after a Monetary Policy Committee meeting yesterday, means any borrowers whose...

  • Gov’t finalises plans for carbon, digital tax

    The carbon tax was first mooted in the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan approved by Parliament in September 2020, while the digital tax was proposed in the Budget Strategy Paper of October 2020.Giving an update on the digital tax at a BURS...

  • IMF shaves Botswana’s economic growth estimate

    The latest projections are contained in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Tuesday and follow from the October WEO. The IMF’s latest forecast is the same level that the Finance and Economic Development ministry projected in...

  • Historical imbalances haunt SACU’s combined industrialisation bid

    Whenever the issue of regional industrialisation is discussed at SACU level, the elephant in the room is the domination of Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini by South Africa.Critics of SACU, which is the world’s oldest customs union, say to...

  • Masisi shakes up ministries, parastatals

    In a televised address, Masisi announced the creation of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, while mandates of other ministries were either merged or moved within Cabinet. The new Cabinet has 18 ministries, which is the same number as the previous...

  • Unregulated cryptocurrency threatens global anti-corruption efforts

    Harvard law professor, Matthew Stephenson says where the criminals of yesteryear used to hide their loot in suitcases under mattresses, cryptocurrencies have removed the limits of both the suitcases and the mattresses.“If the suitcase full of cash...

  • Inflation eases but...

    Figures released recently by Statistics Botswana show that inflation eased to 10% in March, from 10.6% in February, both of those levels representing 13-year highs.The drop in March was largely due to lower movements across the various goods and...

  • Gaborone meeting unlikely to blacklist Russian diamonds

    When the world’s diamond producers, their biggest customers, civil society groups monitoring the industry and others, meet in Gaborone in June to discuss issues affecting the image of the precious stones, Russia will be the proverbial elephant in...

  • AfDB avails P1.4bn to support Botswana

    The funds, detailed in a Country Strategy Paper released this week, are expected to rise when authorities finalise the second part of an Economic Recovery Support Programme later this year. Under the first phase of the programme, government received...

  • Crypto operators face licensing deadline, steep fines

    This comes as the Virtual Asset Act and its regulations came into effect on February 25, with a grace period of three months for operators to regularise.The new Act and its regulations make Botswana one of a handful of countries in the world to...

  • Muted cheers as BURS exceeds tax targets

    Yesterday, officials at the tax agency said the improved collections were helped by higher contributions from income taxes and Value Added Tax (VAT).VAT was increased to 14% in April 2021, while the withholding tax on dividends was increased to 10%...

  • Pula Steel buyer budgets P20m for upgrades

    Vision Ridge, a unit of India’s Yashomann Industries, recently sealed a P16 million deal to takeover Pula Steel, a liquidated Selebi-Phikwe plant that was using scrap metal to produce an intermediary product known as steel billets. The new buyer...

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