By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
During the switch auction on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, the government has switched/agreed to keep N$483.9 million, which was borrowed through the GC27 bond.
The GC27 is maturing on 15 January 2027, and the government is supposed to repay all the outstanding amounts to the investors.
However, the government has been conducting switch auctions, giving options to investors to move their money to long-term bonds, instead of paying it back.
For this, on behalf of the government, the Bank of Namibia held a GC27 switch auction.
Investors responded by submitting around 90 bids, which were worth N$672,1 million, that they wanted to switch at certain rates.
According to the switch summary, most of the investors were interested in the near-end bonds; these are the GC29, GC234, and GC37.
Despite more than half a billion being submitted for the switch, the investors and government did not agree on the rate.
As a result, this auction only switched N$483.9 million, the lowest compared to other auctions that were conducted.
The government now owes investors N$3.1 billion through the GC27 after the switch, and it has two more months to conduct more auctions for investors to move their money.
The outstanding amount to be paid on 15 January 2027 will be determined by the next remaining switch auction.
So far, the government has switched N$44.6 billion from the GC27 through seven auctions.
