Global trade enabler DP World has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with Namibia's Nara Namib Free Economic Industrial Zone to develop a free economic zone for industry and logistics in Walvis Bay to support the growth of Namibia as a regional hub for Southern Africa. The development will help Namibia grow as a centre for industrial operations and logistics, creating opportunities and jobs across multiple sectors including agriculture, fishing, automotive and mining. The facility at Walvis Bay will provide businesses with development-ready land for industrial and logistics operations, pre-built warehouses and office accommodation. The first phase will be a gross developed area of 50 hectares, with expansion opportunities up to 1,500 hectares. The parties have set the second quarter of 2020 as the target date for reaching a definitive agreement on the project. Development of the first 50 hectares phase of the zone has the potential to create 3,000 jobs and help attract investment to Namibia of US$237 million. Expansion to 1,500 hectares is expected to increase the potential investment of around US$1.7 billion with 20,000 job opportunities. Enhancing Walvis Bay as a hub will support Namibia by increasing trade flows with surrounding markets such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi and South Africa. Namibia is in a prime location on the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Corridor. As part of the MOU DP World plans to bring to the project its extensive expertise and track record in establishing and operating some of the world's leading ports, logistical parks and free zones integrated with railways and trucking. DP World has a network of more than 150 operations in 46 countries. DP World's flagship development, Jebel Ali Port, is the largest container port between Rotterdam and Singapore and the 11th largest container port in the world, with an annual capacity of 19.3 Million TEU. The Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) stretches across 51 square kilometres and is home to 7,500 companies employing 135,000 people, including more than 100 Fortune 500 corporations. Jafza and Jazfa-based companies handle $83.1bn in trade annually, contributing around a quarter of Dubai's GDP. Suhail Al Banna, CEO and Managing Director - Middle East and Africa at DP World said : "DP World is pleased to work with Nara Namib to explore how we can work together to enable smarter trade in Namibia. We believe the country has great potential to expand its role as a hub for the region. The Namibian government's recent legislation on free zones and efforts to facilitate greater business provides an attractive environment for investment. » Andre Olivier of Nara Namib said, "Today's MoU brings us a step closer to fulfilling Namibia's vast trade and economic development prospects, and we look forward to benefiting from DP World's global expertise and network in the areas of parks, economic zones, ports and logistics while creating synergies with our strong local footprint and industry reach." DP World's potential expansion in Namibia complements its notable presence in other key African nations including Senegal, Rwanda, Mozambique, Egypt, Algeria and Somaliland.

South Africa is wooing investors from the UAE to its attractive tourism sector by highlighting various investment opportunities in South Africa's travel and tourism industry. To this end, the South African Department of Tourism held a tourism investment seminar in Dubai to attract investors from the UAE. The seminar was part of an ongoing programme by the South African government to strengthen the investment ties between the UAE and South Africa, especially in the field of tourism. South Africa welcomed around 11 million tourism visitors in 2018, making it one of the most popular destinations on the continent. The tourism sector contributed three per cent to South African gross domestic product in 2018 and employs nearly 700,000 people. Headed by Shamilla Chettiar, Deputy Director-General, Destination Development, South African Department of Tourism, the 12-member delegation consisted of representatives from the Department of Tourism, provincial tourism promotion agency and the North West Tourism Board, South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, and project promoter, Incopho Coastal Resorts. During the investment seminar, guests were provided presentations and overviews regarding the marketing of South Africa as a tourist destination, detailed information regarding the investment landscape, opportunities and government support, as well as hearing first-hand experiences from a UAE investor in South Africa’s tourism industry. Private meetings were then held between potential investors and members of the South African delegation. "We are targeting the United Arab Emirates because of the high concentration of high-net-worth-individuals (HNI) with investable assets, as well as the growing outbound market from the Gulf region to South Africa," said Kenneth Siphelelo Hlela, Director of Tourism Investment Coordination at the South African Department of Tourism. "We are aware that to grow the UAE outbound market to South Africa, we need to develop products that respond to that market. Therefore, our planned investment mobilisation efforts are in line with the South African Tourism's marketing efforts in that region. We want to assure both investors and the South African travel industry that South Africa is doing everything to keep up with the demand through mobilising investors who will ensure that demand is matched by our supply," he said.  “We want to assure both investors and the South African travel industry that the South Africa is doing everything to keep up with the demand through mobilising investors who will ensure that demand is matched by our supply,” he concluded. The South Africa government’s tourist agency plans to boost visitor numbers by over 40 percent by 2021.

Zimbabwe’s new currency is expected to begin trading at around 2.5 to the U.S. dollar. A decade after Zimbabwe scrapped its own currency to end hyperinflation and began using mainly the USD, the economy is back in free fall. Fuel, medicines and other basics are hard to come by and less than 10 percent of the workforce is formally employed.  The country has not had a local currency since 2009 when it abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar due to hyperinflation. To curb the inflation, Zimbabwe adopted a multi-currency system dominated by the US dollar. While the new currency regime initially helped stabilize prices, it also increased imports, curtailed exports and gave rise to a chronic shortage of banknotes. To fund government spending and help ease the liquidity crisis, the central bank printed bond notes theoretically pegged to the dollar, while most commercial transactions are conducted using an electronic currency known as RTGS$.  This combination of parallel systems has resulted in a convoluted system of exchange rates, with consumers charged different prices depending on how they pay for purchases, and the cash scarcity has only worsened.  Inflation in Zimbabwe In 1990, the inflation rate in Zimbabwe was 17 percent. The following year it jumped to 48 percent, and then continued to climb over the next 17 years. The government tried a number of different methods to control inflation, such as instituting price caps, outlawing the use of foreign currency, and printing new denominations. By the mid-2000s, inflation had increased to a rate so high that banknotes of Z$100,000,000 and higher were required for simple daily transactions. Zimbabwe devalued its currency three times in an attempt to control inflation. In 2006, it divided denominations by 1,000, striking three zeros from the currency. In 2008, it removed 10 zeros, and in 2009, it struck another 12 zeros from printed denominations. These three acts had the collective effect of making one new Zimbabwe dollar worth 10 trillion trillion old Zimbabwe dollars. Finally, the government gave up and stopped printing money altogether, allowing the economy to use a pastiche of foreign currencies. Central bank says electronic bank savings and locally printed ‘bond notes’ were no longer exchangeable one-to-one for the dollar. Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency in 2009 after it was wrecked by hyperinflation and adopted the greenback and other currencies, such as sterling and the South African rand.