1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC ... - National Treasury

N A M I B I A
I nvestment Code
A c c o rding to the Fo reign Investment Act of 1990, a fo reigner is
t reated in the same way as a domestic company in respect of
taxation and re g u l a t i o n s ,and can locate the business activity
a ny w h e re. H oweve r, t h e re is an exception in the case of
exploration of natural re s o u rces where the government is
entitled to take a stake in the exploitation.
The Act further provides special concessions for companies
i nvo l ved in activities of particular benefit to the country, t h ro u g h
the issue of Certificate of Status Inve s t m e n t .
E x c h a n ge Contro l s
Namibia is part of the CMA, within which no restrictions are
applied to pay m e n t s . Tr a n s fers of capital to and fro m
destinations outside the CMA in the form of loans are subject
to Bank of Namibia ap p rov a l . P roceeds from the sale of quoted
or unquoted CMA securities, real estate, and other equity
i nvestments by non-residents are fre e ly transfe rr a b l e.
Fo reign investors may take up local loans via the companies in
which they inve s t . Limits on the amount that may be borrowe d
d e p e n d , inter alia, on the size of the investment and the
p e rcentage of fo reign share holding. Earnings are fre e ly
t r a n s fe rable after tax, subject to auditors’ verification of the
authenticity of pro f i t s . Fo r w a rd exchange cover for up to one
year is available for import s , e x p o rts and ap p roved fo re i g n
c u rrency loans.
The recent exchange control announcement included the
fo l l ow i n g :
The freeing of blocked funds curre n t ly in the custody of the
local banking industry which we re retained upon emigration
f rom Namibia.
Companies with fo reign ownership of 75 percent or more and
seeking to borrow in the domestic market will be subject to
exchange contro l s , and those companies below the ow n e r s h i p
t h reshold will be exempt from any exchange contro l s .
Namibians will be allowed to invest offshore or through an
Authorized Dealer and maintain a fo reign account up to a limit
of NAD350 000, on that the individual is above 18 years of age
and his/her tax affairs in good standing.
Legal protection of inve s t m e n t
Fo reign investments are protected by the Fo reign Inve s t m e n t
Act of 1990 as amended in 1993. Namibia is also a signatory to
M I G A . In 1990 it signed a bilateral investment treaty with OPIC
of the USA, p roviding guarantees for US private inve s t o r s .
Similar accords we re signed with Germany and Switzerland in
1993 and 1994, re s p e c t i ve ly.
I N V E S TM E N T
O P P O R T U N I T I E S A N D
P R O J E C T S
O p p o rt u n i t i e s
The best opportunities for fo reign investment can be classified
in three main target marke t s ,n a m e ly :
E x p o rt-based opport u n i t i e s : These are intended to exploit
m a r kets in Euro p e, N o rth America and West A f r i c a .I n t e re s t e d
p a rties will be expected to invest in sectors such as
m a nufacturing (local re s o u rce pro c e s s i n g ,textile and garments,
e l e c t ronic assembly and automotive component supply ) , t h e
trading and ware h o u s i n g , b reak-bulk packaging, shipping and
distribution sectors.
G a t ew ay opport u n i t i e s : Targeted markets are South A f r i c a ,
S ACU and southern and western A f r i c a . Sectors earmarked fo r
i nvestment opportunities are manufacturing (or assembly fo r
regional marke t s ) , s e rvices and logistics, s h i p p i n g ,w a re h o u s i n g ,
b reak-bulk packaging, infrastructural development in A n gola and
the financial services sectors.
Local re s o u rce opport u n i t i e s : These are aimed at the
exploitation of domestic re s o u rces marke t .
N a m i b i a :P rojects for Potential Inve s t m e n t
S e c t o r P ro j e c t D e s c r i p t i o n
E n e r gy Wa t e r Construction of a hy d ro-electricity plant in Epupa.
.
Building of a sea-water desalination plant in Walvis Bay.
G a s
D evelopment of upstream and dow n s t ream gas field and also the installation of two
gas pipelines linking Oranjemund to Walvis Bay covering about 1300kms.
I n f r a s t r u c t u re
Tr a n s p o rt Corr i d o r The construction of the Tr a n s - C aprivi H i g h w ay to complement the Trans-Kalahari
H i g h w ay curre n t ly in operation.
Po rt
Upgrading of the deep-sea water harbour to accommodate the expected increase in
trade activity such as the expansion of a container terminal and provision of new
e q u i p m e n t .
R a i lw ay
Extension of the railw ay line into A n gola over a stretch of some 550kms.
S o u rc e s : Namibian Investment Centre, M i n i s t ry of Trade and Industry. (1998)
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