Author: Albert Savana

“The State of Ivory Coast raised on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA), an amount of 220 billion CFA francs (396 million dollars) through a simultaneous auction of Treasury assimilable bonds (OAT) with maturities of 3, 5, and 7 years. The issuer was looking for 200...

The prospect of a devaluation of the CFA franc in the CEMAC zone remains highly unlikely in the short term, despite increasing external pressures on member states. This is the central conclusion of an analysis published on February 2, 2026 by S&P Global Ratings, which rules out any imminent adjustment of the XAF parity with...

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, the profit of the Ivorian Tobacco Company (SITAB), a subsidiary of the British company Imperial Brands, recorded a sharp 74% decrease compared to the same period of the 2024 fiscal year, announced the leaders of this company based in Abidjan. The activity report for the period...

Upon reading the Africa Banking Outlook 2026 from S&P Global Ratings, one certainty emerges: the African banking sector is no longer evolving as a whole, but according to increasingly differentiated national trajectories. Behind an apparent continental resilience, gaps in credit growth, asset quality, profitability, and capital strength widen between Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and...

Upon reading the Africa Banking Outlook 2026 from S&P Global Ratings, one certainty emerges: the African banking sector is no longer evolving as a whole, but according to increasingly differentiated national trajectories. Behind an apparent continental resilience, gaps in credit growth, asset quality, profitability, and capital strength are widening between Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt,...

Arriving in Morocco on Monday, January 26, 2026, on a special flight from Air Senegal, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko was accompanied by a high-level ministerial delegation: Cheikh Niang (Foreign Affairs and African Integration), Serigne Guèye Diop (Industry and Commerce), Mabouba Diagne (Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock), Daouda Ngom (Higher Education, Research and Innovation) and Abdourahmane...

“Make Iran Texas again” Iran has announced the organization of naval maneuvers with live ammunition over two days in the Strait of Hormuz, starting on Sunday, shortly after the deployment by the United States of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and other American military assets in the Middle East. This show of force comes amid...

During the third quarter of 2025, 12 out of 16 banks recorded an increase in their net banking income (NBI), which is equivalent to turnover for an ordinary company, according to a survey conducted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) based in Conakry. “In perspective, adds the Guinean issuing institute, 12...

For its 2025 rating, valid from November 2025 to October 2026, GCR ratings (GCR) has upgraded the long-term issuer rating of SUCRIVOIRE, specialized in the production and marketing of sugar in Côte d’Ivoire, from BB(WU) to BB+(WU) on its regional scale, announced the leaders of this rating agency based in Dakar. The outlook attached to...

At the end of the first ten months of the year 2025, the overall resources of the State of Senegal are estimated at 3,609.7 billion CFA francs (6.497 billion dollars), representing a 9.4% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the Directorate of Forecasting and Economic Studies (DPEE) based in...

Investors operating on the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) financial market have granted Côte d’Ivoire a total amount of 94.913 billion CFA francs (171 million dollars) following a simultaneous auction of Treasury bonds (OAT) with maturities of 3, 5, and 7 years organized on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The issuer was seeking 150 billion CFA...

“In the third quarter of 2025, 41.6% of business leaders in Guinea reported stability in their turnover, compared to 40.0% in the previous quarter, according to the results of the survey conducted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) among businesses in the service, trade, banking, insurance, industry, and construction sectors. According...

On Monday, December 29, several Guinean media outlets announced the resumption of bauxite activities by the company AGB2A-GIC in Boffa and Fria, on areas previously covered by the mining title held by Axis Mineral. Presented as a happy outcome after several months of suspension, the information was received with relief in the affected areas, to the point of leading to a Quran reading ceremony. In a country where the revival of mining activity is seen as a crucial lever for employment, public revenues, and economic stability, this enthusiasm is not surprising. However, it does not erase the questions and unspoken…

In October 2025, the synthetic business climate indicator in Senegal, calculated based on the opinion balances of business leaders, gained 1.8 points compared to the previous month, according to the business survey conducted by the Directorate of Forecasting and Economic Studies (DPEE) based in Dakar. This indicator stood at 92.6 compared to 90.8 in September...

The gold reserves of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) increased by 511.491 million dinars (179.021 million dollars) as of December 20, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the biweekly accounting situation of this issuing institution based in Tunis. These gold reserves stood at 1.634 billion dinars compared to...

At the end of a simultaneous auction of Treasury Bills (BAT) with a maturity of 364 days and Treasury Bonds (OAT) with maturities of 3 and 5 years organized on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA), the State of Mali, through its Public Treasury, raised an...

The January 2026 election marks a structural transformation of the political landscape in Benin. While the presidential movement has adapted to the requirements of the new Electoral Code through strategic mergers, the radical opposition has isolated itself in a fatal manner, choosing to ignore the alliance mechanisms provided by the law. Benin has just reached a decisive stage in the consolidation of its institutional environment. Far from the tensions of the past, the 2026 legislative elections took place in a remarkably serene atmosphere, confirmed by the consistent reports of the African Union (AU) mission and the platform of civil society…

The January 2026 election marks a structural transformation of the political landscape in Benin. While the presidential movement has adapted to the requirements of the new Electoral Code through strategic mergers, the radical opposition has isolated itself in a fatal manner, choosing to ignore the alliance mechanisms provided by law. Benin has just reached a decisive stage in the consolidation of its institutional environment. Far from the tensions of the past, the 2026 legislative elections took place in a remarkably serene atmosphere, confirmed by the consistent reports of the African Union (AU) mission and the platform of civil society organizations…

The outstanding bank credit in the Kingdom of Morocco increased by 6.2% at the end of November 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), the Central Bank of Morocco. This outstanding amount stood at 1,191.8 billion dirhams (131.098 million dollars) compared to 1,122 billion dirhams (123.475 million dollars) at...

At the end of December 2025, consumer prices in Senegal increased by 2.8% compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD) based in Dakar. “The evolution of consumer prices mainly results from the increase in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (+4.5%), restaurant and...

Abidjan, January 13, 2026 – The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have launched a new structured phase of their partnership in Abidjan, aiming to scale up co-financing, mobilize private capital, and accelerate the economic transformation of the continent. Gathered at the AfDB headquarters, the leaders of both institutions held...

At the end of the first half of 2025, the turnover of the Société Industrielle d’Appareillage et de Matériels Electriques (SIAME), specialized in the manufacturing and commercialization of electric energy meters and modular circuit breakers, recorded a slight increase of 2.25% compared to the same period in 2024, as announced by the leaders of this...

The trade balance deficit of Senegal deteriorated sharply by 281.9 billion CFA francs (507.420 million dollars) in November 2025 compared to the previous month, according to data from the National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD) based in Dakar. This deficit stood at -389.7 billion CFA francs (-701.460 million dollars) in November 2025 compared to...

In the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra was declared the winner of the presidential election on December 28, 2025 in the first round, securing a third consecutive term, now extended to seven years following the constitutional revision adopted by referendum in 2023. This reform removed the limit on two presidential terms and changed the term...

The Castel Group is currently going through a governance crisis, already widely exposed in the media. However, this situation does not affect neither the financial strength, nor the industrial commitment, nor the operational activities of the group, a major player in the agri-food and wine sector in France and internationally. As a leading family-owned and...

The State of Côte d’Ivoire raised 320.765 billion CFA francs (approximately 577.38 million USD) on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 on the financial market of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, confirming the sustained appetite of investors for Ivorian securities. This fundraising, carried out through the UMOA-Titres market, is part of the financing of the...

Leaders of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) have unveiled the new compositions of the BRVM Prestige and BRVM 30 indices as part of their annual and quarterly reviews of these key market benchmarks. BRVM Prestige: Stricter Standards, Selective Entry Regarding the BRVM Prestige index, BRVM management states in Notice No. 001-2026/BRVM/DG that “through...

The latest public debt situation report for Cameroon, as of end-September 2025, highlights the growing prominence of AFG Bank Cameroun in managing the State’s domestic liabilities. Through a series of debt assignment transactions, the bank founded by Ivorian businessman Bernard Koné Dossongui has emerged as a key player in clearing arrears owed by the central...

In his in-depth analysis, finance expert Seydina Alioune Ndiaye argues that Senegal’s public debt situation has reached a critical point where a well-organized debt restructuring is no longer optional but urgent to avoid a disorderly default and severe liquidity crisis. Ndiaye highlights that Senegal faces huge refinancing pressures, with an estimated 30 % of GDP needing to be refinanced and around FCFA 6,075 billion required in 2026 alone. This heavy burden, driven by rising debt servicing costs and persistent budget deficits, has severely constrained the state’s fiscal space, leaving little room for essential public investment.He warns that the current trajectory—marked…

In a statement released on December 29, 2025, the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (acting), Fuh Calistus Gentry, openly acknowledged a staggering gap between Cameroon’s officially declared gold exports and international trade statistics. The figure is damning: 15 tons of gold have gone missing. The government’s counterweight to this abyss? 22 kilograms. The...