By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
Some of the investors in the GC26 government bond have opted to have the government keep N$839,3 million of their investments for more years.
This will be done by switching to the other 10 long-term bonds that the government uses to borrow, as revealed by the auction result, which the Bank of Namibia held a week ago.
Over the years, the government has been borrowing through the GC26 bond, and as of July 2025, it owed or borrowed a total of N$3.9 billion through the bond, which it now needs to repay or retain as the bond retires.
For this, the government, through the central bank, hosts various switch auctions to express its desire to retain the borrowed money for longer and also to give investors a chance to switch their investment if they are satisfied with the government returns.
During the switch auction, investors submitted a number of bids worth N$923.6 million that they wanted to switch to the available longer-period bonds.
The next switch auction will be on 24 September 2025.
As of the end of July 2025, domestic debt stood at N$136.5 billion, increasing by 2.7 percent month-on-month as reflected in both Treasury Bills (TBs) and Internal Registered Stock (IRS), which increased by 2.6 percent and 2.8 percent to N$43.9 billion and N$92.6 billion, respectively.
Year-on-year domestic debt rose by 13.5 percent, given increased issuance of both IRS and TBs, by 15.6 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively. However, these numbers do not include the latest borrowing through treasury bills on 14 and 21 August 2025 and the bond auction on 06 August 2025.
The government will also continue to borrow to meet its budgetary shortfall for the financial year (FY) 2025/26.
According to the central bank, together with additional financing requirements, the net financing need for FY2025/26 is projected at N$29.8 billion.
Of this amount, N$21.2 billion will be sourced domestically, while the remaining N$8.6 billion will be financed through external sources. erastus@thevillager.com.na
