Overview: NSX posts gains driven by banking and telecoms sectors
The Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX) saw notable gains in 2025, even as overall trading activity remained subdued. Market observers point to a clear leadership from the banking and telecommunications segments, which helped lift the index and attract cautious investor interest in a year marked by mixed sentiment and cautious risk-taking.
Key drivers: banks and telecoms outperform
Cirrus data shows that the banking sector was a standout contributor to NSX’s performance in 2025. Among the lenders, Standard Bank Holdings (SBN) emerged as a top performer with the highest price return, underscoring continued investor confidence in Namibia’s core financial institutions. The resilience of large banks, coupled with steady dividend expectations and improving risk management practices, supported a broad-based positive price reaction across banking stocks.
Complementing the banking strength, the telecommunications group helped sustain gains in a year where many traders exercised caution. Telecoms stocks tend to benefit from steady demand for mobile and broadband services, which remained robust in Namibia as businesses and households increasingly relied on digital connectivity. This dynamic reinforced the NSX’s leadership role for the telecom sector within the small-cap to mid-cap space.
Market context: subdued activity, selective optimism
Despite the broad positivity in specific sectors, overall trading activity on the NSX remained subdued in 2025. The modest turnover levels reflect a cautious atmosphere among local investors and a conservative approach to risk, typical of emerging market exchanges during periods of macroeconomic flux. However, the outperformance of banks and telecoms highlights how selective momentum can drive meaningful gains even when the broader market underperforms.
Analysts note that liquidity conditions often proxy investors’ willingness to chase returns. In 2025, the NSX benefited from a combination of solid earnings signals from major financial institutions and the ongoing demand for reliable telecom services, which tend to attract both domestic and regional investors seeking steady income streams and relatively lower volatility compared with some other sectors.
Implications for investors: focusing on fundamentals
For investors looking at Namibia’s market, the 2025 NSX performance underscores the value of focusing on sector fundamentals. Banks’ earnings resilience, capital adequacy, and prudent lending practices provide a measure of protection against macro headwinds. At the same time, telecom firms—driven by data growth, SIM subscription expansion, and digitalization trends—offer a corridor of growth that can offset broader market softness.
Market participants might consider the following takeaways:
- Prioritize banks with strong balance sheets and clear dividend policies, as they have historically driven appreciable price returns.
- Monitor telecoms for ongoing user growth, regulatory stability, and pricing power in services that support Namibia’s digital economy.
- Maintain a balanced view on liquidity, given the NSX’s propensity for outsized moves in select names during periods of lower turnover.
Looking ahead: what to watch in 2026
As Namibia navigates domestic and regional economic developments, the performance of the NSX in 2026 will likely hinge on a few core factors. The health of the banking sector, the ability of financial institutions to manage credit risk, and the pace of telecoms expansion—particularly in data and mobile connectivity—will be pivotal. Investor appetite for risk will also depend on macroeconomic signals, currency stability, and external demand for Namibian securities.
While not every sector will participate equally in gains, the 2025 example demonstrates that targeted leadership from banks and telecoms can deliver meaningful upside on a market that otherwise experiences subdued activity.
