The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has declared a dividend of more than half a billion dollars.

This underscores a major improvement in the central bank's performance for the past financial year compared to that of the previous financial year, representing an increase of almost N$100 million.

During the previous financial year, the bank distributed a dividend of N$413.7 million.

BoN's 2023 annual report, prepared in line with the Bank of Namibia Act, shows that the central bank declared a dividend of N$511.5 million to its main and only shareholder, the government.

According to the report, operating profit soared by 57.5%, from N$651 million in 2022 to N$1 billion in 2023, due to higher interest rates and average investment balances. As a result, the bank can distribute a dividend of N$511.5 million to the government. 

Handing over the dividends to Deputy Finance Minister Maureen Mbuende was Central Bank Governor Johannes !Gawaxab.

The report also shows that the central bank's international reserves also rose by 11.9% to N$53.2 billion by the end of 2023. The report further states that despite a challenging global economic environment, the financial sector's performance remained sound in 2023.

The BoN pursued a contractionary monetary policy stance in 2023 to safeguard the exchange rate peg while supporting domestic economic activity. Namibia's economic growth scaled down to 4.2% in 2023 from 5.3% in 2022.