Sovereign fund doubles in value

Fund outperformed the benchmark, !Gawaxab says
The Welwitschia Sovereign Wealth Fund has doubled in value, even surpassing the performance of the Norwegian Sovereign Fund, the biggest in the world.
Ogone Tlhage
  • 2 Months Ago - 2024-08-16 00:00:00
Bank of Namibia governor Johannes !Gawaxab says the Welwitschia Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) has managed to double in value two years after its establishment.
!Gawaxab made the comments following the announcement of the repo rate this week.
“We started with N$260 million... so the latest figure we have, is that the fund has actually outperformed the benchmark, and we have N$440 million,” !Gawaxab said.

Stated objectives
The SWF will be seeded with funds raised by the privatisation of state-owned enterprises as well as income from Namibia’s share of the Southern African Customs Union's (SACU's) revenue pool, royalties from mining of diamonds and other minerals, fisheries quotas and proceeds from the green renewable sector.
SACU tariffs currently represent 30–40% of total fiscal revenue, and apportioning these to the wealth fund would challenge efforts towards fiscal consolidation.
Among its stated objectives, the fund aims to insulate and stabilise the economy, the national budget, and the country’s stock of international reserves against excessive volatility in commodity prices and shocks to the fiscal accounts and balance of payments. During the launch of the fund, late president Hage Geingob said a sovereign wealth fund could be a powerful tool for achieving economic growth and serve as an important fallback and stabiliser during times of extreme shocks.