Neighbour Botswana swings BoP higher than before

A worker at the Botswana Diamond Valuing Company displays a rough diamond during the sorting process..
A worker at the Botswana Diamond Valuing Company displays a rough diamond during the sorting process.

(Reuters) – Botswana received a 10 billion pula ($1 billion) jump in its balance of payments in 2014 from the previous year – which should help maintain annual growth above 4 percent, the central bank said on Monday.

High growth in diamond exports from the world’s largest diamond producer by value was the main contributor to the southern African country recording a 11.4 billion pula BoP in 2014, central bank officials said. However, water and electricity shortages would impact growth in 2015, said Kealeboga Masalila, a senior central bank official, adding the bank expected growth to remain around 2014 levels.

One analyst said rather than water and electricity, lower commodity prices due to weak demand globally could dampen demand in the diamond and copper mining industries.

“The mines generally get priority access to electricity so it’s unlikely to have a major effect,” said Keith Jefferis, an economist with Econsult Botswana.

Botswana’s economy grew 4.4 percent in 2014, down from a 9.3 percent expansion in 2013. Standard & Poor’s affirmed Botswana’s long-term credit rating at “A-“, or upper investment grade, late in 2014, citing the country’s strong external and internal balance sheet.

Total exports increased by 58.5 percent in March, to 8,352.1 million pula ($847 million) compared to the previous month, data from Botswana’s statistics agency showed, lifting the trade surplus to 2,145.8 million pula ($218 million).

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