Author

Brian Benza
  • Huge impairments drag BancABC into red

    Addressing the media on Tuesday, acting group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Blessing Mudavanhu, said the significant jump in impairments was a result of efforts to clean up the balance sheet after the banking group was in August last year acquired...

  • Power imports surge 36% on Morupule B failures

    According to figures released by Statistics Botswana (SB) yesterday, importation of electricity increased by 35.9 percent to 510,100 Mega Watt Hour (MWH) between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the same quarter of 2013. “The increase in...

  • BoB unlocks P2.3bn to boost banks� liquidity

    In a move aimed at augmenting funds available for lending for commercial banks, BoB governor Linah Mohohlo yesterday halved the Primary Reserve Ratio (PRR) for commercial banks from 10 to 5 percent, effective April, 2015 . Primary reserves are the...

  • Tourism to inject P6.5bn into economy

    According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2015 report, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014 was P6.2 billion up from P5.2 billion in 2013. “This is forecast to rise by five...

  • Businesses urged to wash up supply chain inefficiencies

    Chief executive officer of Bramer Life Insurance, Regina Sikalesele-Vaka said businesses should evolve their management styles to focus on the supply chain management in order to stimulate competition. Giving a keynote address at the fourth national...

  • Sun International returns to Botswana

    The move will see Sun international, which divested from Gaborone Sun Hotel last year, bouncing back into Botswana and taking over Peermont’s Grand Palm hotel, Mondior, Metcourt Inn and the casino at Sedibeng hotel in Francistown. In South...

  • Botswana faces P5bn drop in SACU revenues

    SACU revenues, which normally contribute 30 percent to Botswana total revenues, are estimated at P16.3 billion in the 2015/16 fiscal year.  A 2015/16 budget review statement tabled in  the South African parliament by finance minster...

  • Barclays sails out of choppy waters

    In an environment characterised by tight liquidity, squeezed interest margins and a freeze on bank charges, Barclays Bank recorded a 16 percent rise in profit after tax to P335.9 million for the full year ended December 2014. The 16 growths...

  • Pula breaks P10/$ barrier

    According to exchange rate figures published by the Bank of Botswana (BoB), the Pula continued its fall against the US dollar to reach P10.10 per dollar yesterday. This was the first time that the Pula has broken past the P10 per dollar psychological...

  • Huge losses for Kingdom Bank depositors

    The bank, which is currently under curatorship for 90 days, looks set to be liquidated when the temporary management period expires in May.  An inventory of the bank’s assets released by the Bank of Botswana (BoB) on Wednesday, shows that...

  • The infant that refuses to grow

    This has been seen with countries such as England over 300 years ago, and the industrialisation boom of economies such as the US, Germany and Japan in the 19th century. Even with emerging 21st century economic powerhouses such as China, which is now...

  • Namibia overtakes Botswana as top mining destination

    According to the 2014 Fraser Institute Survey released this week, Botswana has slipped two places down the rankings to position 26 while Namibia has improved to 25 from 34 in 2013. The survey, which is compiled from opinions of 4200 mining executive...

  • Household borrowing slows down

    Figures released by the Bank of Botswana (BoB) indicate that annual credit growth in the household sector more than halved last year, decelerating   from 24.2 percent in 2013 to 9.4 percent.  This was attributable to a significant...

  • Shumba partners SA firm to develop power plant

    The MEIPP is a 300 MegaWatt (MW) energy capacity project with a minimum 260 MW net supply to grid after auxiliary and mine consumption.  The project will entail building a coal-fired power plant with a captive coalmine, to take part in the South...

  • Banks scrap around for deposits

    A snap survey of the banks’ deposits rates shows that the liquidity crunch has pushed up the cost of funds for the banks as deposits rates have risen, a development that will further squeeze profit margins in the prevailing low lending rates...

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