Author: Albert Savana

Present in Paris, on May 17, as part of the international conference for Sudan, the transition authorities in place in Khartoum since the fall of Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir in April 2019, have had no words strong enough to greet this event. This allows the country to reintegrate the international community after chaotic decades punctuated...

After a record loss of 21.857 billion FCFA in 2019, Unilever Côte d’Ivoire SA, a subsidiary of Unilever Overseas Holdings Limited and specialized in the production and marketing of consumer products (toothpaste, soap, Lipton tea, mayonnaise) strongly mitigated this loss by achieving a net deficit of 3.690 billion FCFA at the end of the 2020 financial year. The financial situation of Unilever Côte d’Ivoire was bleak. Its equity showed cumulative losses over several years with a loss carryforward of CFAF 32.599 billion and negative equity of CFAF 21.964 billion under the last approved accounts. This situation had also prompted the…

The African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) has the capacity to tap long-term and competitively priced resources in Africa and to finance investments. This is the consequence of the two-tranche bond loan made on May 10, 2021, subscribed at $ 1.3 billion. From its headquarters in Cairo (Egypt), the bank said on Tuesday 18th that this is its largest operation ever carried out on the international debt capital markets. “This landmark transaction confirms investors’ deep confidence in Afreximbank’s mission and credit history, and obtaining competitive prices for both tranches is a testament to the strength of investor support from all major financial…

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, praised the excellent health of the Ivorian economy and its efforts in the response against Covid-19. A mark of confidence that has earned Côte d’Ivoire the benefit of a special fund of one billion USD from the institution in the form of special drawing rights. The announcement was made on May 16, 2021, as a prelude to the summit on the financing of African economies which will be held on Tuesday 18 in Paris (France). In an interview with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, Kristalina Georgieva explained the IMF’s desire…

This is the latest episode in the war of influence that has been going on for several years between France and Russia in the Central African Republic. The discovery, on May 10, of an imposing cache of heavy weapons attributed to a French national causing trouble in Bangui. Apprehended by the police supported by the...

Paris is due to host an international conference on new development financing on May 17 and 18. This meeting is part of the measures already put in place in recent months by the G20 to enable African economies to face the consequences of Covid 19. If the alarmist forecasts related to this pandemic have not...

Announced behind the scenes, the resignation of the Director General of the Ivorian Bank Company (SIB), Daouda Coulibaly, is effective. Meeting on Monday, May 10, the bank’s board said it had taken note. At the head of this banking structure for more than 10 years, Daouda Coulibaly is leaving for a new promotion at the level of the Attijariwafa bank group, on which SIB depends. He is replaced by Mohamed El Ghazi, holder of a Higher Studies Diploma (DES) from the University of Hassan II in Casablanca and an MBA from Sherbrooke Canada, with more than 30 years of experience…

The main raw materials exported by Cameroon have experienced an improvement since the beginning of the year, breaking with the gloom observed a few months ago following the appearance of the health crisis linked to Covid-19. At the end of the first quarter of the year, the statistics converge on a favorable dynamic according to the economic report published in May by the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development. Thus, crude oil recorded an increase of 5.0% in March to stand at $ 65.5 / barrel, well above the $ 43.8 / barrel envisaged in the 2021 finance…

The State of Burkina Faso, through its General Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts, raised on May 10, 2021 on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) an amount of 33 billion FCFA (49.500 million d ‘euros) at the end of its issuance of 182-day assimilable treasury bonds (BAT) organized in partnership with the UMOA-Titre agency based in Dakar. This fundraising is part of the Burkinabé government’s strategy to cover the financing needs of the state budget. For the second quarter of 2021, the intentions of issuing public securities expressed by the Burkinabé government authorities amount…

PALM Côte d’Ivoire, a company specializing in the manufacture and marketing of crude palm oil, made a profit of 3.521 billion FCFA (5.282 million euros) in 2020, announced the leaders of this company based in Abidjan. This company seems to come out of the red zone in that the 2018 and 2019 financial years were marked by respective losses of 12.612 billion FCFA and 5.562 billion FCFA. The consolidated financial statements show an increase in turnover of 15.172 billion FCFA, to 119.759 billion FCFA against 104.587 billion FCFA in 2019. Purchases of raw materials amounted to 43.422 billion FCFA against…

The quarrel between Morocco and Algeria, materialized by the closure of the land borders between the two neighbors since 1994, is toughened on the economic ground with the ultimatum of the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, addressed to two insurance companies “guilty ”To work with“ Orass ”a Moroccan software package. These are the Algerian Insurance and Reinsurance Company (CAAR) and the Algerian Insurance Company (SAA). These two public entities have 10 days to cut all ties with the Moroccan startup Orsys Communication, publisher of the software package. The Presidential Palace of El-Mouradia invokes the need not to leave its sensitive data…

Has the quarrel between Morocco and Germany reached its climax? The recall of the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Shereefian Kingdom in Berlin might suggest so. Financial Afrik asked Emmanuel Dupuy, president of the Institute for Prospective and Security in Europe (IPSE), to decipher this politico-diplomatic imbroglio which not only affects Berlin, but also concerns Spain. Is Morocco right to stand up to Germany? Several economists have already pointed out the repercussions that the diplomatic anger between the two countries could have on the important economic interests linking the Shereefian Kingdom to Germany, in particular in the port of…

The ECOWAS Investment and Development Bank (EBID) is issuing from this Monday, May 10, 2021, on the financial market of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), a bond loan by public call to the savings called “BIDC-EBID 6.50% 2021-2028” for an amount of CFAF 50 billion (€ 75 million). Through this issue whose subscription continues until May 24, 2021 EBID intends to finance a number of projects identified in at least 7 UEMOA countries (Benin, Burkina, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal , Togo) grouping together several sectors such as agrifood, infrastructure, energy and finance. In the understanding of…

The Vista Bank group announced this Monday, May 10, that it had chosen the payment service provider Radar Payments from BCP to manage all of its payment processing activities. “We are proud to join Vista Bank in its journey to transform the way people bank, pay and get paid, while making financial services more accessible. Radar Payments will centralize payment transactions from the technology center, ”says Evgenia Loginova, CEO of the payment service provider. This announcement, recalls BCP in a press release, comes at a time when the Pan-African Free Trade Agreement (Zlecaf) has become a reality. “The free trade…

The Société de Limonaderie et brasseries d’Afrique (SOLIBRA) posted an after-tax profit of FCFA 17.520 billion (€ 26.280 million) at the end of fiscal year 2020, announced the directors of this Abidjan-based company. Compared to the 2019 financial year when it stood at 13.095 billion FCFA, this profit increased by 33.79%. The turnover and other products of the company, however, increased slightly by 1.93% to 229.359 billion FCFA against 225.004 billion FCFA in 2019. Purchases of materials, goods and changes in inventory were reduced by 866 million with a level falling from 48.035 billion FCFA as of December 31, 2019…

The construction project of the Chollet dam located between Cameroon and the Congo has just reached an important stage, following the signing of the concession agreement between the two governments and the builder, in this case, the Chinese firm China Gezhouba. Group (CGGC). The Chinese company now has free rein to conduct the environmental and social impact study confirming the directions taken in October 2020 by the Inter-State Steering Committee of this structuring energy project. The international public call for expression of interest (APMI) launched in 2019, of which CGGC is the successful tenderer, specifies that after this phase, the…

The deterioration of the security situation in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado and the carelessness of the central government of Maputo to stem the threat posed by armed groups in this area, the poorest in the country, is raising increasing concern. of the international community. Since the violent assault at the end of March by two hundred men from the Ahl-al-Sunnah wa al Jamma’ah (ASWJ) group, better known under the name of Ansar Al-Sunna or “Chabab” (the “Young people), on the port city of Palma, located not far from the future site where the French Total was to develop…

Burned alive in the office of the Heavenly Church. Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist Kayode Badru will finally succumb to hospital on May 5, 2021, two days after arriving in Lagos from Dubai, his place of residence. The pastor of the Heavenly Church who had sprayed the deceased with large doses of perfume during a blessing ritual in his honor first took the powder before being apprehended by the police. This news item dismays all of Nigeria, prompting the leaders of the Feast of Christ churches in Lagos to decree on Saturday May 8, 2021 that henceforth any spiritual perfume to…

The cost of construction of new housing for residential use in Senegal increased by 2.4% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, according to data from the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) based in Dakar. “This development is mainly due to the price of construction materials, the cost of labor and the rental of equipment,” explains ANSD. The prices of building materials rose 3.3%, attributable to the price of materials for wall and floor covering, basic materials and materials for electrical work. In annual variation, they increased by 4.2%. As for the…

Bolloré Transports & Logistics Côte d’Ivoire, a subsidiary of the French multinational of the same name, posted an after-tax profit of CFAF 13.454 billion at the end of the 2020 financial year. Compared to December 31, 2019, when it stood at 9.382 billion FCFA, this profit has increased by 43.40%. The company’s turnover contracted from 3.942 billion, 88.182 billion FCFA in 2019 to 84.240 billion FCFA a year later. This decline is due to both works and services sold and ancillary products. The former saw their level go from 80.373 billion FCFA in 2019 to 76.526 billion in 2020. As…

According to information from Financial Afrik, Emmanuel Macron will go on an official trip to South Africa at the end of May. This visit, which is part of an African tour that should also take him to Rwanda. The largest trading partner south of the Sahara, South Africa is a strategic partner with plans to inject more than $ 5 billion into its post-covid recovery plan. Paris intends to capture its share of the pie while its market share continues to fall. From 966 million € in 2015, the balance of its trade represents only 328 million € in 2019.…

The company “Gaz Ivoire”, a subsidiary of the Moroccan group Akwa group, on Wednesday 5 May opened its first gas filling center in the region of San Pedro (southwest of Côte d’Ivoire). With a storage capacity of around 30,000 tonnes and developed over an area of ​​3.7 hectares, the gas infrastructure required an investment of more than USD 16 million. According to the administrators, this center, which will be supplied by tanker truck from the storage terminal in Abidjan, will cover a filling capacity of 60,000 tons annually, or 36,000 bottles per day. “Butane gas is a clean energy, its…

The flagship of the Mauritanian economy, the Industrial Mining Company (SNIM) made a profit of 579 million USD in 2020, against 288 million USD in 2019. This is what emerges from a note published a few days ago by the company . For its part, turnover stood at 1.2 billion USD, up 39% from 2019 (880 million USD). This improvement will have enabled SNIM to improve its contribution to the Mauritanian economy. In 2020, 10% of the Mauritanian state’s budget revenue comes from the sale of iron ore from the company, which alone provided 43% of the country’s exports. Created…

The South African telecommunications operator MTN announced this Wednesday, May 5, an increase of 18% of its turnover in the first quarter. This performance was driven by double-digit growth in the group’s commercial operations in South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana. “The overall group results were supported by double-digit service revenue growth in our major operations and a continued focus on our spend efficiency program. We are encouraged in particular by the strong performance of MTN South Africa, as well as the acceleration of data and fintech services across the group during the period, ”said the group chairman and CEO, Ralph…

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic. In March 2021, a year later, Janssen’s single-dose vaccine is added to a long list of vaccines already available in the West and Asia. On the continent, South Africa is set to produce vaccines and the regular deliveries made possible by the WHO COVAX initiative are making headlines. This information makes it possible to calmly consider the recovery of the economy despite some dysfunctions in places, especially in Europe. The crisis of confidence is the biggest challenge of the recovery and to meet it, it…

Galiano Gold announced on May 3, 2021, the acquisition of all the shares of ABG Mali, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, for an amount of 1.5 million USD. This acquisition comes after the launch of its first exploration work at the Asumura project in Ghana. The ABG Mali property covers more than 167 km² and includes four exploration permits, according to a statement from the company which currently operates and manages the Asanko gold mine (Ghana), jointly owned with Gold Fields Ltd. This new acquisition “is a small but significant step for Galiano. We believe the properties hold great promise,…

The Ivorian banker who has been operating in the Indian Ocean in recent years shares a different perspective on the banking world in Africa. A look that starts from the evolution of relations between bankers and clients which would benefit from being demystified so that “everyone finds what they are looking for”. On the sidelines of the inauguration of a new branch of the Bank for Industry and Commerce of Comoros (BIC-Comores), a subsidiary of Atlantic Financial Group, Gervais Atta receives in his office decorated at the same time sober and elegant. Despite this inauguration with great fanfare, which saw…

In its report on sustainable development published on Tuesday, May 4, the mining operator Perseus Mining Limited announces that it has made an investment of 385 million USD in 2020 for its gold mines of Sissingué (north) and Yaouré (Center) in Côte d ‘Ivory and that of Edikan in Ghana. The company also notes an increase in community investments of 71% to reach approximately USD 1.9 million in 2020. “Despite the challenges the past year has brought, Perseus’s sustainability program has continued to strengthen and evolve alongside its expanding operations. Our large-scale efforts and engagement with our local communities and…

Already indicted for several economic and financial crimes and placed under judicial supervision, ex-President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz also faces a defamation complaint. Relieved by the words of the former raïs who accuses them of corruption, parliamentarians have just lodged a defamation complaint through their lawyers, in this case Masters Mohammadi Baba, Mohamed Ould Ely and Diagana Ibrahima. During a press conference organized on April 28, 2021, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz had suggested that the deputies subscribed to the parliamentary inquiry into his governance which covers the period 2008-2019, because they had been bribed to the tune of 300 million…

The State of Guinea-Bissau, through the General Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts, has, for the third time, raised on May 4, 2021 on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) an amount of 22 billion FCFA (33 million euros) at the end of its issuance of 5 and 7-year Treasury stimulus bonds (ORD), organized in partnership with the UMOA-Titres Agency based in Dakar. In total, the Bissau-Guinean authorities have raised 61.6 billion FCFA since March 9, 2021. The issue of ODRs which is launched by the UMOA-Titres agency in collaboration with the Central Bank of…