WINDHOEK,Sept. 19 – The Retirement Fund industry is home to over N$135 billion in national savings, which is equal to 75% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of asset base.
The finance minister Calle Schlettwein at the annual conference of the Retirement Funds Institute of Namibia revealed this, adding that it is due to the prudent management that year-on-year growth in these institutional savings, which is the basis for increasing returns to investment and a credible basis for investment in the real and services sectors of the economy has been witnessed.
“This Conference is taking place at the time when the domestic economic prospects have strengthened relative to the past year. We see firm green shoots budding, and there is reasonable optimism that economic activity and outlook for this year is better than a year ago when a growth rate of 1,1% was recorded against a backdrop difficult economic and fiscal conditions,” Schlettwein said.
He added that amidst the subdued economic environment and liquidity pressures experienced in the banking sector during the latter half of last year, the financial sector remained robust and stable.
“Financial institutions are well capitalised and various industry subsectors, including the Retirement Funds industry, posted relatively better growth outputs, which augurs well for the medium-term outlook,” he said. –Sharma Mundingi
