Wanetsha Mosinyi
5 November 2009
There are eight IFSC-certified companies for the year ended 31 March 2009, bringing the total cumulative capital investment by the companies to P6 billion from P4.5 billion the previous year.
The CEO of Botswana International Financial Services Centre, Alan Boshwaen, believes their facilitation efforts continued to "bear fruit" during the year under review as total employment created by these companies now stands at 585, comprising mainly professional skills intensive jobs.
The total tax contribution by Botswana IFSC companies during the year under review stands at P87 million while the government-owned financial services agency received P7.485 million from its principal to fund its operations.
"Looking at all these figures, we feel we are running an efficient operation," Boshwaen said at a media briefing on Tuesday this week.
Even so, despite a 25-percent increase in the aggregate capital investment of Botswana IFSC-accredited companies during the year, some of the companies were affected by the global recession. The impact of the crisis resulted in a decline in available long-term investment funds and liquidity on international markets, which slowed down growth in cross-border investment flows in the southern African region.
According the Botswana IFSC annual report, as a result, some of the agency's pipeline business was affected as investors who had committed to already approved plans were challenged by funding issues.
The slow trickle of private capital flows mainly in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI) also paralysed some investment projects.
"There is no doubt that the global recession impacted on our operations because FDI was curtailed," Boshwaen said.
He, however, said they anticipate growth in the coming fiscal year as more companies are eager to re-position themselves amid opportunities that the Botswana market can still offer.
"We are optimistic that the tide will turn," he said.
To improve Botswana's competitiveness in becoming a financial intermediary for the SADC region and the rest of Africa, the Botswana IFSC said it was working with its key stakeholders on identified targeted interventions that would position the country to maximise benefits expected to come along with economic recovery.
In the forthcoming year, Boshwaen said they would further entrench Botswana IFSC as a key aspect of the country's economic diversification drive. The agency also aims to continue persevering with business development to attract more investors to Botswana and provide a range of value adding services that assist them in obtaining the necessary approvals and subsequently in setting up their operations.
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