Author: Albert Savana

The Raxio Group (“Raxio”), a leading pan-African data center developer and operator, today announced the appointment of Master Power Technologies (“Master Power”), a leading African company in data center solutions, specializing in supply and installation of pre-designed data centers, to build and install several data centers in Africa. Following an initial installation in Uganda, Raxio’s next series of data centers are being developed in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique to provide world-class colocation services in the region. The infrastructure will help drive the region’s growth by supporting data consumption and growing digital needs while reducing the…

Senegal’s exports of goods at the end of June 2021 increased by 23 billion FCFA (34.500 million euros) compared to their level in May 2021, according to data from the Directorate of Forecasting and Planning. economic studies (DPEE). The DPEE notes in fact in its Point de conjoncture for the period under review that these exports rose from 197.4 billion FCFA to 220.4 billion FCFA between May and June 2021. << This increase is favored by the increase external sales of cement (+3.3 billion), food products (+1.9 billion) and zircon (+1.3 billion), ”explains the DPEE. As for non-monetary gold exports,…

The 5th edition of the AFRICAN BUSINESS & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FORUM will take place in Marrakech, on September 22 and 23, 2021. Organized by LATITUDE MONDE, CSR Consulting Firm, the AFRICAN BUSINESS & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FORUM has become a force of proposal to boost the Sustainable Development ecosystem in Africa, to promote and improve the CSR policies of SMEs, Organizations and Large companies while including Start-ups. In 4 editions, this Forum welcomed more than 150 Companies and Institutions from 21 countries. Since the launch of the Forum, AWARDS have celebrated Companies and Organizations that lead exemplary and innovative projects in…

The net banking income (PNB) of the Ivorian Bank Company (SIB), a member of the Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa Bank, increased by 9% in the first half of 2021 during the same period of the year 2020, announced the leaders of this banking establishment based in Abidjan. This GNP stood at 39.198 billion FCFA against 35.933 billion FCFA on June 30, 2020, an increase of 3.265 billion FCFA in absolute value. According to the bank’s management, this growth is mainly driven by market activities despite a timid economic recovery environment. The general operating expenses of the SIB recorded an increase…

Thunderclap in the Malian political landscape. Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, former Prime Minister of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was arrested on the morning of Thursday August 26 by the Attorney General at the Supreme Court of Bamako in the so-called “purchase of the presidential plane” case. and military equipment ”. He was placed under arrest warrant, following questioning. Since Wednesday evening, media have been announcing that a magistrate of the supreme court, the highest court of the country, asked to hear the former prime minister nicknamed “the tiger” this Thursday, in particular in the case which was relaunched in March 2020 ,…

The situation is favorable for the Gabonese subsidiary of the Total group since most economic indicators are on an upward trend. Activity during the first half of the year saw strong growth, with sales of $ 311 million, up 66% from the previous year. During the reporting period, the company achieved net income of $ 12 million. “This increase is mainly explained by the improvement in the average selling price,” Total Gabon explained, unlike the previous year where the results were mixed. The company reported that the first half of 2021 selling price averaged $ 61.5 / bbl, a 100%…

The State of Mali, through its National Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts, raised on August 25, 2021 on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) an amount of 30 billion FCFA (45 million ‘euros) at the end of its simultaneous issuance of 3 and 5 year treasury stimulus bonds (ODR) ODR issues are initiated by the UMOA-Titres agency in collaboration with the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). They aim to enable the issuer to mobilize the savings of natural and legal persons in order to cover the financing needs of the Malian State…

what Africa can gain from the end of tax havens Interview by Abashi Shamamba. The treaty concluded at the beginning of last July at the instigation of the OECD and the G20 marks a break in the fight against tax evasion on an international scale. It is the most ambitious multilateral agreement in a century, says Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration. It is the linchpin of this agreement for having piloted and coordinated the difficult negotiations between states. With this agreement, more than 100 billion dollars captured by multinationals via sophisticated arrangements which…

The chairman of the management committee of the Vocational Training Development Fund (FDPF), Joël Nguessan, and its secretary general, Ange Leonid Barry Battesty, are at loggerheads. Facts ! It all started with information about misappropriation relayed by the media and social networks, which led the High Authority for Good Governance (HABG) to instruct the General State Inspectorate (IGE) to initiate a mission of audit and investigations. According to Joël Nguessan, the audit report sent to him shows that there were indeed acts of bad governance and serious dysfunctions in administrative, financial and accounting management. Following this report – which reveals,…

This has been in effect since August 24, 2021, the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco. The announcement made by Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra at a press conference comes after months of latent and noisy tensions between the two neighboring countries. A decision according to Algiers which would be justified by “hostile actions” of Rabat which led “Algeria to decide to sever diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Morocco from this day”, indicated the head of diplomacy Algerian. Even if for some observers, the differences between the two states did not foresee the “escalation” which we are…

Faced with the press on August 24, 2021 in Algiers, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ramtane Lamamra, announced the severance of diplomatic relations with neighboring Morocco, due, he said, to hostile actions by the kingdom of the Sharif to the regard to his country. Justifying this decision, the former Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union said that “history has shown that the Kingdom of Morocco has never ceased to carry out hostile actions against from Algeria “. And the break as announced takes effect on Tuesday, August 24. “Moroccan propaganda and security services are waging a…

On August 24, 2021, the Public Treasury of Côte d’Ivoire raised 66 billion FCFA (99 million euros) following its simultaneous issuance of Treasury bills and stimulus bonds (ORD). maturity 91 days, 3 years and 5 years organized in partnership with the UMOA-Titres Agency based in Dakar. Launched by the UMOA-Titres agency in collaboration with the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the issuance of ODRs aims to allow the issuer to mobilize the savings of individuals and moral standards in order to ensure the financing needs of the Ivorian state budget are covered as part of its economic recovery…

The Republic of Senegal and the Agence pour l’Assurance du Commerce en Afrique (ACA) today signed a Participation Agreement to meet the final conditions of the Government of Senegal’s membership in ACA. The Participation Agreement will be accompanied by a capital contribution of 15 million euros, financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), for Senegal’s accession to the ACA following the signing of a financing agreement between Senegal and the EIB in October 2020. Membership in ACA will enable Senegal to attract longer-term financing at competitive rates, and will give international investors and financiers assurance that sovereign transactions and other…

Good news for Gabon. Fitch Ratings has just upgraded the country’s rating from CCC to B- with a stable outlook. The upgrade reflects a recent easing of liquidity pressures due to rising oil prices and a new IMF program. For Fitch, this upward revision also reflects his expectation that Gabon’s underlying fiscal position will improve due to a “rebound in non-oil revenues, a reduction in pandemic-related spending and a restriction of other current expenditure ”. The rating also takes into account Gabon’s high GDP per capita compared to its peers but also long-term uncertainties regarding the country’s oil production capacity,…

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) aims to revive its economy through an Industrialization Master Plan (PDI) likely to mobilize 115,000 billion Congolese francs, or 58 billion USD. After its validation by the Council of Ministers, a tweet from the Ministry of Industry said, the document will be presented by Prime Minister Sama Lukonde to stakeholders on August 26 as a prelude to the donors’ conference. This plan aims to reduce the DRC’s dependence on the outside for the consumption needs of its population estimated at 80 million people in terms of agro-industrial, pharmaceutical and textile products costing around 2…

Cameroon is already planning for post-Covid economic recovery through the launch of the extended 2022-2024 budget programming conferences backed by Cameroon’s National Development Strategy (SND30). Under the triptych of “relevance, credibility and reliability”, the work in progress will make it possible to discuss the three-year programming of sectoral administrations, to analyze the performance associated with budget programming and to consolidate the entire Medium-term Expenditure Framework (CDMT ). To complete the 854 ongoing projects, the State will have to invest FCFA 5,888 billion (approximately $ 10.5 billion) during the period under review, including FCFA 4,052 billion from external funding and FCFA…

The construction magnate Mahamadou Bonkoungou, boss of the Ebomaf group (Entreprises Bonkoungou Mahamadou et Fils) active in West Africa, particularly (in 2014) in Guinea and which also has continental ambitions in the African banking sector and that of the insurance (in Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Togo) has just acquired an “operating license” for a gold mine in Guinea. This unofficial information neither in Burkina Faso nor in Guinea, and which made the headlines of several West African newspapers, was, in fact, leaked by the means of a person close to the boss of Ebomaf. And the media which practically relayed…

On the eve of Hakainde Hichilema’s inauguration ceremony, the President of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, also current president of the African Union (AU), sent envoys with a message to the newly elected president. from Zambia. Indeed, the delegation made up of the principal adviser, Christian Bushiri, in charge of diplomatic questions, Claude Ibalanki, coordinator of the mechanism of the Addis Ababa agreements, Serge Tshibangu, representative of President Tshisekedi assisted by the Ambassador of the DRC from Zambia was dispatched to Lusaka to carry a message, the content of which has not been made public. She was received by President-elect Hakainde…

By Albert Savana. It is a velvet revolution that the Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al-Maghrib) is pushing by adopting a regulation setting a ratio that reflects the requirements relating to the measurement of the interest rate risk inherent in the banks’ portfolio. “Interest rate risk is defined as the risk, current or future, to which the forecast net margin and the economic value of a bank’s equity are exposed, due to unfavorable movements in interest rates that affect on the positions of the banking book sensitive to the interest rate ”, specifies the central bank. The Bank Al-Maghrib circular…

The Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea is about to set up a digital currency. Through this reform, certain transactions will be carried out from mobile phones and electronic cards without Electronic Payment Terminal (TPE) etc. The currency will thus be transmitted from user to user while allowing economic agents to make easy and safe daily payments. It would also make it possible to make purchases, send money, or receive it. In our humble opinion, this decision deserves to be welcomed and encouraged as we have a cash oriented culture that does not speak its name. However, it should…

Malian businessman Samba Bathily has just invested in a cultural complex in Cape Verde, precisely on the island of São Vicente. The boss of the ADS group inaugurated on Saturday August 20, 2021, the Mansa Floating Hub, a floating musical center made up of 3 wooden pavilions separated but linked to each other. The set includes a recording studio, bar and performance space. “This Floating Hub is a platform of the” Social Nation Africa “dedicated to all African creators and all over the world so that they can find each other, that they create and that they can flourish. Whether…

The participation of savings and credit institutions under the jurisdiction of the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC) will be increasingly sought for the financing of the Central African economy. It is to materialize this ambition of the authorities shared by the business circles of this country that the BGFIBank group, the leading bank in the sub-region with a turnover of more than 3,000 billion FCFA in 2020 (5, 3 billion dollars) has just forged a strategic partnership with Commercial Bank Centrafrique (CBCA). The new agreement initialed last week in Bangui by the two banking institutions consists in particular of strengthening…

Contributions to the economy of Tunisia’s financial system experienced a slight decline of 0.3% or 257 million dinars during the first quarter of the year 2021 against an increase of 1.2% or 1.084 billion dinars. year earlier, according to data from the Tunisian Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT). This issuing institute mainly explains this situation by “ the decrease in credits to the economy (-0.7% or -655 million dinars against + 0.7% or +595 million dinars), the magnitude of which has was attenuated by the increase in the securities portfolio with the banks (7.5% or 398 million dinars against 10.3%…

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, announced this Monday, August 23, that the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the highest in history (around 650 billion dollars), takes effect this day. “This allocation is a real injection in the arm of the global economy and, if used wisely, a unique opportunity to overcome this unprecedented crisis. It will provide additional liquidity to the global economic system, supplementing countries’ foreign exchange reserves and reducing their dependence on more expensive domestic or foreign debt. Countries can use the space thus created to support their economies and step…

Two ministers from the DR Congo are expected this week in Angola following the pollution of Congolese rivers caused by mining activities upstream of the watershed of the Tshikapa river in the Angolan part. They are Ève Bazaiba Masudi, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, and Christophe Lutundula, Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to information reported by the local press, the mission will be joint and will also be made up of the Angolan side. To date, the wait would concern the Angolan side which should finalize the list of experts and personalities who will be part of the expedition.…

For several weeks, the United States blocked Mali’s acquisition of a Casa-branded military aircraft. According to security sources, the blockage is linked to allegations of the use of child soldiers by GATIA, an armed group signatory to the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation resulting from the Algiers process. But according to the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdoulaye Diop, the acquisition of this aircraft will facilitate the transport of troops in areas of difficult access, and will support Mali in humanitarian interventions especially with a workforce of nearly 50,000 people. The Minister carried out, from August 16…

The extraordinary summit of heads of state of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) on August 18, 2021 mainly devoted to “the evolution of the macroeconomic situation in the CEMAC zone in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the analysis of recovery measures ”also addressed other subjects of common interest, including the future of monetary cooperation with France. Apart from the closed session of the Heads of State, the said summit held by videoconference was marked by the participation of development partners in particular the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development…

The company Tractafric Motors Côte d’Ivoire (TMC), specializing in the sale of new motor vehicles, will pay its shareholders on September 2, 2021, for the 2020 financial year, an overall net dividend of CFAF 1.668 billion (2.502 million euros), announced the leaders of this Abidjan-based company. Compared to the 10.240 million shares that make up the company’s share capital, the net dividend per share amounts to 162.90 FCFA against 159.3 FCFA in 2019, an increase of 3.6 FCFA. The dividend that will be paid to shareholders represents 130.32% of the nominal value of the share, which is 125 FCFA. By…

Shoprite announced on Monday, August 23, that it was withdrawing from Uganda and Madagascar after two decades of activity. This, he said in a statement without further details, in line with the group’s review process outside South Africa, its local market. Present since 2000 in Uganda where it operates five stores, and since 2002 in Madagascar where it has 10 stores, the South African supermarket chain had already registered its withdrawal from Kenya and, since last June, from Nigeria. Indeed, after 16 years in the country, it sold the ownership of its subsidiary Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited, to Ketron Investment…

At the end of the first half of 2021, the Norwegian Sovereign Fund (Government Pension Fund Global) earned 990 billion crowns or 95 billion dollars coming mainly from its investments. In a statement, the head of the fund, Nicolai Tangen, noted the particularly strong performances of the sectors of energy and finance but also of...