The future of the Namibian economy will go into the direction of black empowerment and the local financial industry met recently to draft a financial charter. While this is new for Namibia, two prominent international re-insurers, Hannover Rück and Swiss Re with several billions in assets in South Africa have threatened to pull out of South Africa as they refuse to sell stakes to black economic empowerment (BEE) groups. Swiss Re warned this week that BEE scares away (foreign) investors. - "Over regulation is setting in and obstacles are starting to outweigh opportunities", according to Alexander Weissleder, managing director of Swiss Re’s African property and casualty unit, in the Swiss Re annual report released yesterday in Johannesburg. - Swiss Re and Hannover Rück threatened in 2003 to withdraw from South Africa rather than sell stakes to black investors. The same year, the financial services charter of RSA stated that companies must sell a 10 % stake to black investors. - Foreign reinsurances were allowed to apply for an exemption. - Swiss Re has more than R3.18 billion in assets in Africa, mostly in South Africa.

The RSA government will adopt rules in the next 3 weeks to ensure ministries grant contracts only to companies that had sold stakes to black investors, according to media reports.

The black economic empowerment (BEE) codes of good practice will require companies to sell 25.1 % of their equity to black investors and source at least 50 % of their goods and services from black-owned companies..
The Public Investment Corporation in South Africa, which oversees state pensions worth more than R400 billion, would not invest in companies that had not met targets specified in industry charters, CEO Brian Molefe said. The Namibian government is planning to draft a BEE policy which is to eventually become law and Namibian companies will have to adopt similar BBE measures to those in South Africa.