Country Insight - Namibia & Mauritius

Namibia: Power utility Nampower plans to invest USD 2.33 billion in power generation and expanding electricity transmission over the next five years to attract mining investment. The utility sees power demand growing by 3 - 5% annually and this is set to triple by 2030, largely due to increasing demand from Namibia's uranium mines.

Mauritius: The Government expects economic growth to slow down to between 3.5% and 4.0% in 2010 from a previous estimate of 4.3%, with unemployment rate in 2010 increasing to 7.5% from 7.3% last year. The tourism sector, among others, would be affected by the lingering debt crisis in the Euro zone, a key source of tourists for the country.

The Monetary Policy Committee left the Central Bank's benchmark repo rate unchanged at 5.75%, citing uncertainty over the economy caused by Europe's debt crisis.