Author: Albert Savana

For the second consecutive week, the needs of commercial banks in Mali will not be fully covered by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the common issuing institution of the 8 countries of the Union economic and monetary West African (UEMOA). According to the results of the fourth injection of liquidity at a...

Inflation, in annual comparison, accelerated to 3.2% in December 2021 in Morocco after 2.6% in November, according to data updated by the central bank. This dynamic, she said, mainly reflects the 3.1% rise instead of a 0.9% drop in volatile food prices. “It is also attributable, although to a lesser extent, to the rise in...

Congo is considering the construction of a railway line to serve the north and the south in order to fcilitate the export of mining and hydrocarbon products. 1,000 km long, this railway linking the department of Sangha to that of Pointe-Noire, the ore port in the making, should require an investment of 10 billion dollars....

Abdelwahab Nougaoui joins the Wafa Assurance group as advisor to the CEO, according to an announcement made on Monday, January 24. This insurance veteran’s mission, specifies the same source, is to lead Wafa Assurance’s projects in reinsurance, such as the launch of a reinsurance activity and the development of capacities for placing large risks on...

The airline Air France has announced that it is suspending the Paris-Ouagadougou link. A decision that she says she took because of the situation in Burkina Faso, and in connection with the French authorities in the country. Thus, the Paris-Accra-Ouagadougou rotation stopped in Accra (Ghana). “The two flights scheduled for Monday are canceled”, specifies, for...

The Malian president of the transition, Assimi Goïta, announced this Wednesday January 19 to have exchanged with António Guterres, the boss of the United Nations Organization (UN). Main subject discussed, the political crisis in the country and its latest developments. “I had a long telephone conversation with the Secretary General of the United Nations, António...

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara spoke out on the financial, economic and diplomatic sanctions decided by the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against Mali, on the sidelines of a visit, Monday January 17, 2022 to Libreville, with his Gabonese counterpart Ali Bongo Ondimba. “We are very unfortunate to have imposed all these sanctions,” he said, recalling the context of these measures. “It is unacceptable for a military regime to remain in place for a five-year period (…). We have done everything to ensure that the military authorities of Mali organize elections in a timely manner, it is with our reluctance…

Tamer Adel Seif El-Din has been the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Arab Investment Bank (aiBANK) since the beginning of January 2022. His appointment comes after the group’s acquisition of 76% of the bank’s capital was finalized. financier EFG Hermes and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund. With more than 22 years of experience in the banking sector, Seif El-Din has served in several banks including National Société Générale Bank – sold in 2012 to Qatar National Bank –, Misr International Bank, Union National Bank and the Bank of Alexandria. As a reminder, the…

Côte d’Ivoire is working to give itself the means to succeed in the digital transformation of all its services. And it is to Digital Business Invest (DBI) that the Ministry in charge of the Promotion of SMEs, Handicrafts and the Transformation of the Informal Sector has decided to entrust the digitization of its sector of activity. Digital Business Invest (DBI) is a company based in Tallinn, Estonia. She specializes in the design of tailor-made digital economy models, alternative financing and management of innovative projects, driving the digital transformation of the public and private sectors. It is to this company that…

An aircraft belonging to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar landed in Israel on Thursday, a military correspondent for Israel’s public Kan news service said. Writing on Twitter, Itay Blumental said an “executive plane used by Libyan General Khalifa Haftar” landed in Israel after making a “diplomatic stopover in Cyprus.” “After two hours on the ground, the plane took off for Cyprus”, indicates for its part, a report from the Israeli airport authorities which did not give the identity of the occupants. Probably relatives of the Libyan marshal. Indeed, prior to the signing of a peace accord in October 2020, Khalifa Haftar’s…

French asset management company, Eiffel Investment Group, is seeking to raise $200 million in bridging loans to invest in accelerating electrification and energy transition in Africa. The European Investment Bank (EIB) intends to participate in the fund to the tune of 30 million dollars. The aim is to provide start-up capital before long-term investments for renewable energy projects, which could provide energy to two million consumers. The group is targeting a market that it estimates at 523 million euros per year and will do so by soliciting investments from public and private institutions. Eiffel Investment Group also plans to launch…

The growth of the world economy, which was around 6% before the outbreak of the health crisis linked to the coronavirus which led to the recession, should take time to pick up again and stabilize for the duration. The United Nations is counting on difficult prospects, especially since the pandemic has exacerbated poverty and inequalities. This slowdown is partly explained by the end of economic and fiscal stimulus plans and by severe disruptions due to supply chains. According to a study by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, after a revival of activity punctuated by a growth…

During the launch of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (Papss), the pan-African payment and settlement system in Accra on January 13, the managing director of Smart Africa, Lacina Koné, announced that his institution and Afreximbank have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support and advocate for the development of pro-Papss policies and regulations across the continent. During a moderated panel with the Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Zambia, Dr Denny Kalyalya and the Managing Director of the West African Monetary Institute ( IMAO), Dr. Olorunsola Olowofeso, Lacina…

The president of the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Oramah, revealed this Thursday, January 13 in Accra (Ghana) that his institution intends to forge relations with at least 500 African banks by providing them with lines of nearly $ 8 billion to facilitate commercial transactions with the Papss (Pan-African Payment and Settlement System), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System. “This will represent the largest banking relationship ever forged by a financial institution on the continent. Currently, the bank has integrated more than 480 banks ”, he noted at the official launch of the new instrument. Adding that the current payment…

In November 2021, Senegal’s industrial production excluding cotton ginning increased by 7.1% compared to the same period of 2020, according to data from the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) based in Dakar. “This development is in relation to the performances noted in the environmental (+ 62.7%) and extractive (+ 51.8%) industries”, underlines the ANSD. Still according to this structure, the situation observed in the extractive industries is explained by the good performance of the production of metal ores (+ 66.3%) and other products of the extractive industries (+ 33.3%). Likewise, production in the first eleven months of 2021…

The French public airline Air France announced, on January 12, 2022, the cancellation of its flights to and from Bamako (Mali). Information confirmed by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Mali, Dembélé Madina Sissoko. “The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructures informs national and international opinion that the airline company Air France has decided, according to the information notified to the airport authorities of Mali by its representative in Bamako, to suspend all its flights to destination and leaving Bamako until further notice ”, we can read in a press release from the supervisory department. According to the document dated…

Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah Alaoui (photo) said on January 10, 2022 that her country intends to regulate the use of virtual currencies through new legislation. Specifying that his department is also examining the possibility of setting up a 100% Moroccan cryptocurrency, developed and guaranteed by Bank-Al-Maghrib, the central bank. These announcements, made during a plenary session of oral questions in the House of Representatives, come in a context where cryptocurrencies are prohibited in financial transactions by Moroccan law. They are, however, increasingly popular in the country which ranks 24th in the 2021 ranking of the Global…

Operations in the treasury securities market of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) will be particularly animated from January 10 to 14, 2022 through issues of Assimilable Treasury Bonds (BTA) where Cameroon, Congo and Gabon globally intend to mobilize CFAF 175 billion ($ 302 million) on the market of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). In detail, Cameroon, through the Domestic Syndication Issue (ESD), plans to mobilize 150 billion FCFA ($ 259 million) from BTA. With a maturity of 26 weeks for an interest rate of 2.75%, this operation, the minimum share of which is FCFA…

Growth estimates for the year 2021 indicate an increase in the economic activity of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) of 6.1% against 1.8% in 2020, according to data from the Department of Economic Policies and the internal taxation (DPEFI) of the UEMOA Commission based in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. “The negative effects of the health crisis on the economies of the Member States of the Union have clearly diminished”, indicates the DPEFI. Still according to this structure, the growth rate by Member State is quite disparate: + 7.0% for Benin, + 7.1% for Burkina Faso, + 6.5%…

French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Tuesday January 11 that his country and the European Union support the “unprecedented sanctions” taken last weekend in Accra (Ghana) by the heads of state of the Economic Community of the States of West Africa (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Uemoa) against Mali. “We support” these diplomatic and economic measures, he told the Élysée Palace during a press conference with European Council President Charles Michel. These sanctions are, among others, the closure of land and air borders between Mali and the other ECOWAS member states, the recall of ambassadors in…

Malian President Assimi Goïta spoke on Monday evening in a televised speech on the conclusions of the double summit of the heads of state of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Uemoa) and of the Economic Community of the States of the West Africa (ECOWAS) held the day before in Accra. And its share of sanctions taken against his country. “Reading the ECOWAS and WAEMU press releases gives the impression that the complexity of the situation in Mali has unfortunately not been taken into account. It is regrettable that the efforts of the transitional authorities were ignored, ”the junta…

After hitting $ 68,992 in November 2021, Bitcoin is now down to $ 42,000, at times approaching the $ 40,000 mark. Overall, cryptocurrencies are in free fall, with their market capitalization shrinking by $ 300 billion in one week. The bearish wave is linked on the one hand to the expected decisions of the Fed to hike rates. The long period of easy money is said to have fueled the rise of cryptocurrencies. Behind the Fed’s arbitrations, there are also the consequences of the Chinese decision to ban bitcoin mining activities (May 2021) and the political unrest in Kazakhstan, a…

With more than 80% of the African market capitalization, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has exploded its counters in 2021. The composite index of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the FTSE / JSE Africa, achieved an increase of more than 20% in 2021. A performance not achieved since 2012 and which contrasts with the fall of 7% recorded by the market index emerging markets (MSCI Emerging Market). Despite this performance, the valuation level (PER) of the JSE remains below the emerging market average, indicating significant upside potential in 2022. Expressed in dollars, the rise of the South African market reached 10%…

The Malian transitional authorities reacted to the “illegal and illegitimate” sanctions taken by the heads of state of ECOWAS and UEMOA on January 9, 2022 in Accra. And reserve the right to review their country’s participation in these entities. Bamako’s response to the hailstorm of sanctions was swift. In a press release dated January 9 and read by Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, Minister of Territorial Administration and government spokesperson on the night from Sunday to Monday on national television, the soldiers in power in Mali express their amazement at the sanctions which they consider “illegal and illegitimate” and which, according to…

Nigerian Benedict Oramah, President of the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), was received on January 6, 2022 by Faure Gnassingbé in Lomé. An opportunity for him to discuss with the Togolese head of state on strengthening the institution’s funding programs in the country. These discussions mainly concern the development of the second phase of the Adétikopé industrial platform (PIA), the developer of which, ARISE IIP, a subsidiary of Singaporean Olam, received support from Afreximbank in the first phase of the work. “We are ready to participate in the implementation of the second phase of the project,” said Benedict Oramah. The infrastructure,…

Pending the conclusions of the summit of heads of state of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) held this Sunday, January 9 in Accra on the political situation in Mali and the transition timetable proposed by Bamako, Burkinabé President Roch March Christian Kaboré has already sounded the death knell in his opening speech. “As much as we are aware of the complexity of the situation in this country, we believe that the economic and social reforms aimed at the Refoundation of Mali could only be carried out by democratically elected authorities”, declared the Burkinabé, president of the conference.…

Is the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Cemac) becoming less and less petro-dependent? In its 2020 annual report published on January 7, 2022, the BEAC, the region’s central bank, indicates a decline in the share of the oil sector in gross domestic product (GDP). Indeed, the 162-page document states that the share of the oil sector in regional GDP stood at 13% in 2020, against 18% in 2015. That is a decrease of 5 percentage points in the space of 5 years. For their part, the oil revenues of the six countries of the region (Cameroon, Central African Republic,…

It seems like he creates a billion dollars with every snap of his fingers or with every sip of Coca Cola, a drink he particularly enjoys as a consumer, not an investor. Between 2016 and 2018, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway company acquired 5% of Apple for $ 36 billion. Three years later, as Apple crossed $ 3 trillion in market capitalization, Oracle’s share of Omaha is valued at $ 160 billion. Isn’t this dizzying gain likely to distract big investors from the real economy and its constraints? In addition to the dramatic rise in Apple stock, Warren Buffet can comfortably…

This Sunday January 9 marks the start of the 33rd African Nations Cup (CAN). Until February 6, Cameroon will be the epicenter of continental football. For the first time, the competition will take place with 24 teams * who will each try to give their best to win the precious holy grail. Between the favorites, the outsiders and the losers, the competition will be tough, impossible and only one nation will be in the firmament. Beyond the winner, who will be known on the evening of February 6, the most important is the celebration of continental football and all fans…

The eyes of the Malian authorities of the transition are on Accra (Ghana) where a double summit is being held this Sunday, January 9, on their draft timetable transmitted at the end of December to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS ). Even if a new schedule of shorter duration would have reached the president of the instance, according to our sources. From his palace in Bamako and on the plane to Accra where two summits devoted to Mali are being held, Assimi Goïta, the Malian president of the transition and his Minister Abdoulaye Diop of Foreign Affairs…