Author: Albert Savana

A new general manager has been appointed to head the mobile operator Orange-Cameroon, in this case the Beninese Patrick Benon who until then held the same functions in Botswana. He succeeds Frenchman Frédéric Debord appointed CEO of Orange Madagascar, replacing Michel Degland transferred to Mauritius Telecom. “These appointments are part of the Group’s international mobility policy and occur, for each of them, at the end of the term of office of the outgoing. These appointments will all be effective in September 2021, “the company said in a statement following the board meeting held on July 27, 2021, in Casablanca, Morocco.…

Rwandan authorities have approved the KCB group’s deal for the takeover of Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) from London-listed financial services company Atlas Mara Limited. Atlas Mara indicates that it has obtained authorizations to sell its banks in Rwanda and Botswana. The company is also awaiting approvals from Tanzania where KCB Group is seeking to acquire African Banking Corporation Tanzania (BancABC). KCB Group announced last November that it had signed an agreement with Atlas Mara to buy 62% of the capital of BPR and 100% of the capital of BancABC. “The company has obtained regulatory approval for transactions regarding its…

A year and a half after the outbreak of the pandemic, Africa is doing better than resisting the Coronavirus. Until then, the slaughter predicted, or at least announced by Westerners, has not yet taken place, much to the surprise of those who read crystal balls and are now guessing. But should we say that Africans are naturally immune so as not to fear a human disaster? It would be irresponsible if, as long as the disease not only claims many victims on a daily basis, official statistics are certainly underestimated in view of the difficulties encountered in accessing real data.…

Introduced a few days earlier by his lawyers, the request for provisional release of the former Beninese minister, Reckya Madougou, in pretrial detention since last March for “financing of terrorism”, was rejected on July 16, 2021 by the Court of repression of economic crimes and terrorism (CRIET). Two reasons were mentioned in his order by the President of the Chamber of Freedoms and Detention. According to Edibayo Joanna Dassoundo, the charges against the accused are serious. Moreover, she says, Reckya Madougou and her co-defendants have only been questioned once and the various statements require further questioning and even confrontation. First…

Affected by the rationing of electricity which ended at the beginning of July not without having affected the performance of several companies, the Ivorian economy, which quickly recovered, risks being again weakened by the economic situation. from China. The world’s largest producer of electricity in 2019 (27.8% of the world total), the Middle Kingdom is experiencing an unprecedented crisis in the sector. Extreme temperature conditions have increased the need in some areas for electricity for air conditioning and refrigeration use. While the People’s Republic of China has decided to limit the production of coal plants, which also produce electricity, for…

The Democratic Republic of the Congo will be able to finance its major economic reforms thanks to the three-year program with an Extended Credit Facility of 1.5 billion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The board of directors approved the signing on July 15, 2021. “Important steps include modernizing the monetary policy framework and strengthening the financial position, governance and independence of the central bank. Steps are being taken to improve the risk-based supervision framework and supervision of banks. The authorities’ objective is to increase foreign exchange reserves while allowing the exchange rate to act as a shock absorber, ”said…

Neighboring countries, Cameroon and Nigeria share several difficulties, including terrorist attacks and secessionist tendencies. An unfavorable context for development, peace and stability which leads the two countries to combine their efforts to face these asymmetric wars, generally logistic, ruinous and costly in human life as well as in financial and material resources. Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria reiterated it again on July 13 in Abuja, during an audience granted by the Nigerian president to the special envoy sent by Yaoundé. The objective is to strengthen cooperation between the two states with a view to eradicating…

As part of the acquisition of vaccine doses in Africa, Standard Chartered will disburse USD 200 million in agreement with the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank). This funding announced this Thursday, July 15 is part of the bank’s USD 1 billion funding commitment, launched in March 2020 and aimed at fighting the pandemic by providing personal protective equipment, ventilators and now vaccines. This action is part of the Advance Purchase Commitment (APC) framework structured by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African vaccines acquisition task team (Avatt), “under which Afreximbank has provided a guarantee of $ 2 billion to manufacturers of vaccines…

The International Development Association or the IDA window of the World Bank group takes stock of its disbursements with African countries. Of the 15 guests, 13 heads of state including the Ivorian Alassane Ouattara are present. Rwandan Paul Kagame intervened by videoconference, as did the Ugandan and the Ethiopian prime minister. Organized in Abidjan, this meeting, which constitutes the 20th reconstitution, is marked by the context of Covid-19 which continues to mourn the world’s populations, especially with its new variants. “This 20th replenishment will support a resilient recovery to the Covid-19 economic crisis, and help the continent continue its economic…

The State of Mali, through the National Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts, raised on July 14, 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 issuance of 60-month 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 allow the issuer to mobilize the savings of natural and legal persons in order to cover the financing needs of the Malian State budget as part of…

The former prime minister of the DR Congo, Senator Augustin Matata Ponyo, sued in the “Zairianized property” case, is once again free to move. The general prosecutor’s office at the Constitutional Court having canceled his house arrest on July 14, 2021, according to Me. Laurent Onyemba, his lawyer. On the grounds that “his flight is not to be feared”, Matata Ponyo returned to his home without being accompanied by the police after, on Tuesday July 13, 2021, a warrant from the prosecution at the Constitutional Court ordered that he be placed in custody. provisional arrest and under house arrest. “For…

The UK’s development finance institute, CDC Group, announced Thursday, July 15, the establishment of a US $ 50 million trade finance facility for Ecobank International (EBI SA), subsidiary of the Ecobank Group. According to a press release issued by the institution, this facility will stimulate the economic recovery of the African continent and is expected to generate between 70 and 140 million US dollars in additional trade per year. It will also provide systemic liquidity and support vital supply chains in African markets. The goal is to improve access to goods and services during the pandemic and to promote economic…

The project to exploit the Mbalam-Nabeba iron deposit torn between Cameroon (Mbalam) and Congo (Nebeba) should leave African soil to be transported to Europe, more precisely to England and France, where the Australian firm Sundance resources lodged a complaint against the two countries with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in London and Paris. Regarding this affair, Sundance, which had a company in Cameroon, Cam Iron and another in Congo, Congo Iron, announced on July 14, 2021 that it had terminated the functions of the CEO of the company, Giulio Casello to whom d he other responsibilities within the group…

Former Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou who completed the project to create the Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf) will be celebrated this Thursday by his former peers in Accra, land of Kwame Nkrumah, for having promoted the economic integration of the continent. Accra, the capital of Ghana which houses the headquarters of Zlecaf, has erected for continental posterity a statue in honor of Mahamadou Issoufou, which will be officially unveiled during a tribute ceremony organized in his honor at the headquarters of secretariat of the Zlecaf. The ceremony will take place, according to our sources, in the presence of his successor…

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) announced, in a statement published on July 13, 2021 on its website, the accession of Guinea through its central bank, and Togo as its most recent shareholders, “thus strengthening its representation Pan-African ”. No information is filtered about the amounts invested. AFC, which claims an investment of 30 million euros in the Kekeli Efficient Power project, the first combined cycle gas-fired power plant in Togo, has also invested 150 million USD in the development of the Adétikope Industrial Platform (PIA ). In Guinea, figures show around USD 300 million invested in projects that aim to…

The World Bank announces the signing of a $ 200 million financing agreement from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Competitive Value Chains for Jobs and Economic Transformation (Pccet) Project. This partnership mobilizes the presence of the Director General of Operations of the World Bank, Axel van Trotsenburg, who inaugurates this Wednesday, July 14 in the company of the Minister of Health, Pierre Demba, a mobile clinic for vaccination against Covid-19 at the Forum of Adjamé. Three weeks ago, the Director of Operations of the World Bank for Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso and Guinea, Coralie Gervers, signed…

The African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) signed an agreement to support capacity building initiatives over a five-year period, ending in 2025. The agreement signed by Professor Benedict ORAMAH, President of Afreximbank and Professor Emmanuel NNADOZIE, Executive Secretary of ACBF, will see the two pan-African institutions contribute to the development of capacities for the implementation of the Agreement of the Zone of African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA) comprising knowledge sharing, advocacy and promotion of trade and economic development in African Union Member States. On the occasion of the signing of the Accord, Professor Oramah underlined…

The unification of the Central African Securities Exchange (BVMAC) on July 4, 2019 does not seem to produce the expected results to the satisfaction of its initiators. This is the main message that emerges from the first annual regular session of the Ministerial Committee of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC). The said committee examined the economic and financial situation of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) on July 8 by videoconference, in order to identify short- and medium-term prospects in a health context linked to the coronavirus. . However, he dwelled on the state of play…

The senior management of the French Development Agency (AFD) announced the appointment of Christian Yoka as director of the organization’s Africa department. The French of Congolese origin replaces in this post Rima Le Coguic, appointed deputy executive director of expertise France, in charge of operations of the future technical expertise of the group. Regional Director for East Africa since August 2018, Christian Yoka has extensive field experience on the African continent, according to the AFD press release announcing his appointment. He was notably regional director for Cameroon, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea between 2016 and 2018, after having served…

An arbitral tribunal of the International Court of Arbitration in London (“LCIA”) ruled on July 7, 2021 against the company Port de Djibouti SA (“PDSA”), in its dispute with DP World, confirming the illegality of its efforts to terminate its joint venture agreement and transfer its shares to the State. The London arbitral tribunal has outright rejected the Djibouti company’s offer to evade the contract formerly concluded with the Emirati port giant. It should be noted that 23.5% of the shares of this port platform are held by China Merchants Port Holdings Company Ltd of Hong Kong (“China Merchants”), and…

Paul Biya’s presence in Europe on a private visit fuels political battles that go beyond the classic confrontation between the majority and the opposition. The stake is more important, since it is about the succession to the head of the country. Decryption. “The President of the Republic, accompanied by Madame Chantal Biya, left Yaoundé this Sunday, July 11, 2021, at the end of the morning, for a brief private stay in Europe”. It is with this laconic press release that the Presidency of the Republic officially announced the visit currently being made by the Cameroonian Head of State to Europe.…

The foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) stood at 4.137 billion FCFA (approximately 7.5 billion USD) as of May 31, 2021, against 4.951 billion on the same date in 2020. That is to say a contraction of 16.43% in one year, according to the recent report on monetary policy published by the issuing body based in Yaoundé (Cameroon). These reserves are made up of 84% of foreign sight assets, 6.3% of other foreign currency assets in the trading room, 5% in gold stocks, and 4.7% in Fund assets. international monetary policy (IMF). “On a monthly…

The question has been on the lips for a few days, and torments the minds in the economic and financial circles of the sub-region. Tipped for the takeover of at least one of the two Togolese public banks put on the market and for which the State is slow to find (or validate) a taker, the Burkinabe businessman Mahamadou Bonkoungou has just formed, formally on the 29th June 2021 in Lomé, a structure called IB Holding, thus feeding the track of an affirmative answer. According to the local press, the purpose of the company is to acquire stakes in companies…

Despite an increase of around 20% in the overall net income of banks operating in WAEMU in 2020, not all banking centers have contributed to the favorable trend. Starting with Guinea Bissau and Togo. This increase in the profit of WAEMU banks was driven, in 2020, by Beninese banks with CFAF 24.5 billion in 2020, or 22.5% of annual growth (the strongest increase). The country thus leaves 7th place in the 2019 ranking and points to 5th in 2020, according to data from the annual report of the Umoa Banking Commission. Behind Benin are Mali (61.9 billion, or +18.8) and…

The estimated overall volume of government securities that the member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) plan to issue by auction during the third quarter of 2021 amounts to CFAF 1,075 billion (€ 1.612 billion), announced the officials of the UMOA-Titres Agency based in Dakar. In a note addressed to investors...

More than three weeks after his return to Côte d’Ivoire, ex-president Laurent Gbagbo began his political agenda on Saturday July 10 with a visit to Henri Konan Bédié (also ex-president) in his stronghold in Daoukro (East ). Back in Côte d’Ivoire since June 17 after his acquittal by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Laurent Gbagbo began a 48-hour visit to Henri Konan Bédié, president of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) in its stronghold in the east of the country. According to indiscretions the staffs of these two “heavyweights” of Ivorian politics will find themselves “out of sight” this…

A global agreement of 6.75 million euros was signed on Friday July 9, 2021 between the State of Senegal and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the establishment of a production plant for vaccines against the Covid-19. The amount will finance the carrying out of technical feasibility studies and the preparation of a regional production pole within the Institut Pasteur in Dakar. The initiative is supported by the Government of Senegal and international financial partners. The non-repayable funding includes 4.75 million euros from the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), 200,000 euros from Germany and 1.8 million euros…

-The elephant sheltered from exogenous shocks thanks to its membership in the UEMOA zone. -An increased robustness through the special BCEAO window for the refinancing of “COVID-19 Treasury bills.” S&P Global Ratings has assigned Côte d’Ivoire, as of July 6, 2021, long and short-term sovereign credit ratings in foreign and local currencies “BB- / B”. The outlook is stable denoting the balance between expectations of strong economic growth, supported by improved policymaking supporting a decline in twin deficits in the coming years and, on the other hand, the risk of fiscal slippage and persistent socio-political tensions. S & P’s opinion…

The Senegal Housing Bank (BHS) will proceed on July 10, 2021 to the payment of the half-yearly interest on its bond loan by public offering called “Diaspora bonds BHS 6.25% 2019-2024” for an amount of 625 million FCFA (937,500 euros). During the period from May 16 to June 17, 2019, this banking establishment specializing in housing finance had successfully raised on the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) financial market an amount of 20 billion FCFA. As such, he had issued 2 million bonds with a nominal value and an issue price of 10,000 FCFA. Through the funds raised, the bank…

WAMU’s banking sector net income grew 19.8% compared to 2019, according to data from the Banking Commission’s annual report. It stands at 551.8 billion FCFA (approximately 994 million USD), against 460.6 billion in 2019 in a context marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the 312-page document consulted by Financial Afrik, Ivorian banks posted a profit of 242.5 billion (nearly 45%), leading the list far ahead of those of Burkina (92.5 billion), Senegal ( 85.4 billion), and Mali (61.9 billion). Beninese institutions recorded a profit of 24.5 billion, just ahead of those of Niger (23.9 billion). The Togolese and Bissau-Guinean…