Economic activity in Southern Africa was vibrant during the 3rd quarter as the region remained on course to attain a projected annual average growth rate of 4.4 percent. In Angola strong growth in the non-oil sector continued to boost overall economic activity. Also, planned new gas and oil fields coming on stream are envisaged to drive higher growth. Botswana’s economic recovery continued with increasing activity in all sectors. The economy in Lesotho continued to show resilience, largely supported by an improved performance in diamond mining. Malawi is benefitting from improved investor confidence, which is enhancing the availability of foreign exchange to the economy. Also, Malawi’s tobacco marketing session for the third quarter showed higher sales that further the increased availability of foreign exchange.