Author: Adama WADE

The presentation of the results of the West African subsidiaries of BMCE Bank Of Africa, which took place on April 20 by videoconference, suggests strong resilience overall, albeit with a marked contraction in the profit margin subsidiary by subsidiary. Thus, BOA Benin saw its net income contract to 13 billion FCFA, down 11.3% for a GNP up 9.4%. The leading Beninese bank in terms of loans and deposits saw its general operating expenses increase, induced by non-recurring expenses and the doubling of its cost of risk, which nevertheless remained at a controlled level of 1.3% of outstanding loans. means. Same…

On the sidelines of the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) conference, which opened on April 20, 2021 in virtual mode, David Marchick, chief operating officer of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), declared that the United States of America America will increase their investments in Africa. “With the Biden administration, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will increase its allocations to Africa. The climate is a high priority, and we will increase our activities to support women-led businesses, technology, healthcare and real estate infrastructure. “’We will increase our estimated average annual commitments to Africa by 20% from US…

Very committed to this project, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has just signed, March 24, 2021, to increase its shares in the capital of AEICORP by $ 18,349,950. Of this amount, $ 10 million is to be disbursed immediately by the NNPC, the national hydrocarbons company. The Republic of Niger was the first country to subscribe to this capital increase for 10 million US dollars. As a reminder, the African Energy Investment Corporation or AEICorp (Africa Energy Investment Corporation) is a development financial institution created on January 26, 2019 following the reform of the APPO Fund; APPO being the Organization…

Amputated from its North as is the case in all the reports of the Bretton Wood institutions, sub-Saharan Africa will be the region of the world which will post the lowest growth in 2021. This is what the latest IMF report indicates. , published in April 2021 with, it must be said, a pessimism still in place but, we are pleased, attenuated compared to the alarmism of October 2020 of the said organization. According to the IMF, between the southern edge of the Sahara and Cape Town, the GDP contraction was 1.9% in 2020, significantly better than the -3% predicted…

On March 9, 2021, Moody’s agency upgraded Benin’s rating from B2 to B1. On April 11, this member country of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) held elections which will see President Patrice Talon re-elected in the first round with 86% of the vote. Does the vote marked by the call for a boycott by part of the opposition have an impact on the country’s rating? Here are the answers from Aurelien Mali, vice president of Moody’s and sovereign ratings analyst. What is your comment after the elections in Benin? Are there any consequences on the country’s rating?…

(1 dollars USD = 9,06 dirhams marocains). Sur l’exercice 2020, BMCE Bank Of Africa affiche une légère hausse de +1% du Produit Net Bancaire consolidé à 14 milliards de dirhams à fin décembre 2020 grâce à la progression de la marge d’intérêt de +5% et du résultat des opérations de marché de +3%. Toutefois, la banque de Ohman Benjelloun subit les contrecoups d’une année 2020 marquée par le Covid-19, avec un Résultat Net Part du Groupe en baisse de -62% s’établissant à 738 millions de dirhams et un recul de -47% du Résultat Net de la Banque à 724 millions…

From left to right: Lydie Hakizimana, CEO of the Pan African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Rwanda. At the top, Saloua Karkri Belkeziz, President of Inetum Africa (Morocco), Ingrid Marina Swagath Leyoubou (Gabon), Dany Cécile Kanyeba Nyembwe (DRC). In the second row: Djindah Mohamed el Moustapha Bal (Mauritania), Limda Awesso (Togo) and Bamba Maférima M’Bahia (Ivory Coast). Throughout the day of March 8, Financial Afrik will present to you women leaders from different backgrounds and who each represent the face of female emancipation and the progress made on the complex issue of gender equality in the business world. From Saloua…

After years of experience in corporate and structured finance, corporate banking and asset management at prestigious institutions such as HSBC Bank, NatWest Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, Bank of Montreal (BMO), Nesbitt Burns (the investment bank subsidiary of the Bank of Montreal), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the United Bank of Africa, Sonnie Ayere founded Dunn Loren Merrifield in 2009. Under his leadership, Dunn Loren Merrifield associated the award for best debt house in 2011 and best investment bank in 2012. Mr. Ayere is a member of the Nigerian Bond Steering Committee, the SEC Committee on Market Structure and Reforms, the…

In fiscal year 2020, the Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM) recorded a volume of transactions of 246 billion FCFA against 136 billion in 2019, an increase of more than 80% in an exceptional context marked by the Covid pandemic. 19. Despite a clear downward trend in the equity compartment, SGIs performed well, although the results show...

Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire is in turmoil over its Asset management subsidiary. Directed until recently by Mike Coffi, Ecobank Asset Management is said to have suffered billions of CFA francs of losses on nearly 60 billion CFA francs (90 million euros) of investments that do not comply with the rules governing the management of mutual funds....

Farewell Royal Kaïlcedrat of Ebrié Michel Abrogoua is no more. A pioneer of private equity in Africa, the Boss of Phoenix Capital Management SA (PCM) will have devoted a lifetime to the renewal of Ivorian and African finance in general. In recent weeks, Prince Ebrié has been actively working on the structuring of his company around the financial and real estate poles, two areas where PCM would have particularly distinguished itself. The Phoenix Africa Group was soon to make an announcement on major operations combining its financial and construction activities. Death decided otherwise. With the disappearance of this pioneer, a…

In Addis Ababa, the sixth virtual session of the week dedicated to the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) opens today. The objective of this mass is to “review progress, share experiences and build consensus on the main infrastructure projects that will bring Africa to the next stage of development,” said a statement from the Economic Commission for the Africa (CEA), host of the meeting. While waiting for the results of this meeting to define Africa’s infrastructure priorities between 2021 and 2030, it must be said that the priority projects of PIDA have been significantly behind schedule. Will the…

Phew of relief for the insurance companies of the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets. The passage of the minimum capital from 3 to 5 billion FCFA, second stage of regulation 007 / CIMA / PCMA / CE / 2016 of April 8, 2016 relating to the share capital of insurance companies, has just been postponed. For non-life insurance companies, the postponement is three years, until December 31, 2024, according to the decision taken by the council of ministers of the zone meeting on December 31 in Bissau. For life insurance companies, the capital increase to 5 billion FCFA has been…

Benin completes Africa’s first international bond transaction of the year, with the issuance of one billion euros in two tranches with final maturities of 11 years and 31 years.

Global Credit Rating Company Limited (GCR Ratings) is very pleased to announce the acquisition of a 65% shareholding in West Africa Rating Agency S.A. (WARA), a Senegal domiciled and Francophone Africa focused Credit Rating Agency (CRA). The acquisition supports GCR’s strategic objective to continue to develop its Pan-African reach as Africa’s leading CRA. WARA is an independent CRA registered with the Financial Markets Authority of the West African Monetary Union (AMF-UMOA). It has been in operation since 2012 and provides credit rating services across the Francophone Africa region, and across the full spectrum of sectors. The acquisition of WARA provides…

Between Morocco and Gabon, traveling in Covid-19 weather is ruining yourself. The kingdom imposes a double PCR test (less than 72 hours) and serological (this one being finally abandoned) at a cost of 800 dirhams (80 euros), or half of the Moroccan minimum wage. Once in Libreville, rebelote: Gabon is having all passengers tested. While this test is free on arrival, on departure it costs 80,000 FCFA, or 122 euros. The lack of protocol between African countries means that the price of the test, 100,000 FCFA (152 euros) in Benin, 40,000 FCFA (61 euros) in Senegal), 30 dollars in the…

At the end of a trying 2020, Africa is experiencing its first recession in 25 years. But, beyond the economic and social shock, the continent rather embodies resilience in the face of the pessimisms of old schools of thought, the cold forecasts of the WHO and the early diagnosis of those who still felt, at the start of the pandemic, than the death toll was inversely proportional to the number of beds fitted with life support. The year 2020 therefore sends us back to humility and … humanity in its most fragile and precious: health. In any case, post-pandemic economic…

Amadou Toumani Touré has just bowed out at 72, in Istanbul, on the banks of the Bosphorus. The former Malian president had undergone heart surgery in Bamako before being evacuated to Turkey. A native of Mopti, this soldier revealed himself to the Malian nation and to Africa as a whole in March 1991 by overthrowing President Moussa Traoré, who died two months ago following a popular uprising. At the head of the Transition Committee for the Salvation of the People, ATT organized the sovereign national conference, from July 29 to August 12, 1991, followed by legislative and presidential elections in…

Development Partners International (DPI) today announced the co-optation of three new partners, a strong signal for the firm’s commitment to supporting Africa’s development. Former Standard Bank executive and former official of the International Financial Corporation (IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank), the Senegalese Babacar Ka, who has been working for DPI for 9 years, with four major transactions to his credit (Banque Atlantique – ABI, KMR Group, private university of Marrakech among others) has been appointed responsible for West Africa, crowning a faultless course. Likewise, Zimbabwe native Takudzwa Mutasa, formerly Citigroup and then Helios Investment Partners, with 11 years…

This was the highlight of the trading day of November 5, 2020. The Abidjan Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM) recorded an unprecedented rush on Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire, which ended up 7. 39% at 3,125 FCFA. The mysterious institution bought more than 1 million securities (exactly 1,000,108 shares) for an amount of 2.8 billion FCFA, thus concentrating 98% of market transactions. This large transaction, rather rare on a single security, is the talk of the market. Admittedly, after having experienced a mixed second quarter, Ecobank CI was more convincing in the third quarter with higher results. Enough to whet the appetite of…

The Senegalese Priority Investment Guarantee Fund (FONGIP) is seeing a major change with the succession of Thérèse Faye Diouf as general administrator replacing Doudou Kâ, appointed head of the Dakar airports company (AIBD.Sa ). Holder of a Master II in sociology, Ms. Diouf replaces a Ponts et Chaussés Engineer, specialists in project financing in a structure intended to provide guarantees to priority projects. The Fund’s board will be chaired by Oumar Ndoye, teacher researcher.

With Zambia likely, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 120%, to default on its Eurobond by the end of the current year, speculation is rife on the debt of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, reports Citi Research, a division of Citigroup Global Markets. According to the report dated November 2, 2020, the public debt of the countries of the region fell from 50.4% of GDP in 2019 to 56.6% in 2020. The ratio would even climb to 60.4% excluding Nigeria and South Africa, the two leading economies in the region, which together account for 50% of its GDP. Some 6 countries have…

At the new West and Central Africa Region of the World Bank, do all the appointments really revolve around cases of alleged corruption in the DRC, including those that relate to train accidents in the former Katanga province that left many dead in April and May 2014?  It should be reminded  that the World Bank has never denied allegations contained in the Financial Afrik article of  April 2018 that narrated these cases, including the alleged roles and actual positions of whose involved at the World Bank. Is this because the World Bank, a central device of the international development institutions…

Fitch Ratings – Hong Kong – 30 Sep 2020: Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDR at ‘B’. The revision of the Outlook reflects a decrease in the level of uncertainty surrounding the impact of the global pandemic shock on the Nigerian economy. Oil prices have stabilised, global funding conditions have eased and domestic restrictions on movement have started to be relaxed. Nigeria has navigated external liquidity pressures from the shock through partial exchange rate adjustment combined with de facto capital flow management measures and…

The report of the panel of independent experts finally fell on Monday, July 27, clears President Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank (AfDB) of the 16 allegations made by whistleblowers while recalling that “the absence of proof is not proof of absence ”, further calling for a distinction to be made between an alleged institutional failure of the Bank and the conduct of the President. Out of the 16 launchers’ allegations against President Akinwumi Adesina, here are the conclusions of the team of three experts led by former Irish President Mary Robinson, along with Judge Hassan Jallow of The…

Arash Azarmi is an economics and business expert working for Volant Media UK who own London-based Persian news channel, Iran International. From his education at Tehran Business School and the Institute for Management and Planning Studies, where he acquired both an MBA and MSc, alongside his career as an economic analyst which spans over 17 years, Arash is well versed on all issues relating to the global economy with a focus on Iran. His economic expertise has been included on a wide range of TV and Radio channels, including BBC Persian, Iran International and Radio Farda, as well as having…

Reacting to the so-called “16 allegations of whistleblowers” crisis which has paralyzed the African Development Bank for several weeks, five former vice-presidents published on Sunday, June 21, a letter calling for a “consensus”. Signatories of the open letter, Mauritanian Ousmane Kane, Chadian Bedoumra Kordje, Malian Birama Sidibé, Zimbabwean Sakala Zondo and South African Mandla Gantsho, express concern over the crisis between AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, and certain shareholders calling for an independent investigation. Noting that 11 former African heads of state had called for caution and respect for the rules of the institution in a joint declaration of May 29,…

Dossongui Koné, boss of Atlantic Finance and Simon Tiemtoré, CEO of Vista bank in a tight duel for the takeover of the 3 BNP Paribas subsidiaries in Mali, Guinea Conakry and Burkina Faso. The process of selling BNP Paribas subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea Conakry * has taken a political turn. BNP Paribas’ investment bank, which has been playing chiaroscuro from the start, did not wish to give exclusivity, leaving the two finalists on the file, namely the Ivorian businessman Dossongui Koné, and the American-Burkinabé, Simon Tiemtoré, compete in the anterooms of the African presidential palaces. And, in…

The Annual Market Forum of the Federation of African National Insurance Companies (FANAF) has just been held in Yaoundé. From 5 to 7 November 2019, only one central theme was on the agenda: “review of the CIMA treaty after 25 years of implementation”. The participants, while welcoming the inclusive model of the unique Interafrican Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA), made pressing demands, as reported in the final resolutions of the conference. This is the case for the harmonization of normative policies between the CIMA treaty (which concerns 14 countries) and the Organization for Harmonization in Africa of Business Law (OHADA,…

In this exclusive interview with the monthly Financial Afrik (number 63), Alexandre Benalla, the former chargé de mission at the Elysée, deputy chief of staff of the President of the Republic, talks about his career, his new relationship with Emmanuel Macron and its investment projects in Africa. Far from the incidents of May 2018 that propelled him to the front page of the French media, the man, unparalleled analyst of the security issues of the world, at the antipodes of the image of the “Arab service to big arms” that it was decked out, opened a new page, that of…