Author: Albert Savana

The unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 of the banking group United bank for Africa (UBA), published on Wednesday, April 21, show a 24% year-on-year growth in profit before tax to 40.6 billion naira (or 106.7 million USD), compared to 32.7 billion naira (approximately 85.93 million USD) recorded in the first quarter of 2020. The institution is thus starting the year 2021 on a strong note. Because, “after-tax profit also increased by 26.8%, from 30.1 billion naira (79.10 million dollars) in March 2020, to 38.2 billion naira (100 million dollars) in during the period under review.…

Emmanuel Macron will travel to Chad on April 23 to attend the funeral of President Idriss Deby Itno, who died on April 20, during a clash with the Front for Alternation and Concord rebellion in Chad (Fact). This is the first time since his election that the French head of state has made such a trip to Africa, testimony to the closeness he had for the Chadian president, constant support and particularly involved from Paris in the fight against terrorism in Africa. Sahel. The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) Jean-Yves Le Drian, intimate of the missing head of…

The turnover of the Modern Ceramic Company (SOMOCER) recorded an increase of 22.06% at the end of the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of the year 2020, according to the activity indicators of this based company. in Menzel Hayet a town located 35 km southwest of Monastir in Tunisia. This turnover reached 24.187 million dinars on March 31, 2021 while it stood at 19.816 million dinars on March 31, 2020, an increase of 4.371 million dinars. The local turnover which represents 93% of the total turnover amounts to 22.461 million dinars against 18.256 million dinars as…

The disappearance of Idriss Deby Itno on April 20 led to a transition featuring General Mahamat Idriss Deby, 37, one of the late president’s many sons. Nicknamed “Kaka”, the latter is, like his father, a pure military man but also one of the central cogs of the Zaghawa clan in power for more than thirty...

After the success of previous editions, the Attijariwafa bank group gave new impetus to its “Attijari City” Business Game by launching a pan-African version. This edition was organized by the Attijariwafa bank group from April 5 to 9, 2021. The young talents were brought to embody the role of business leaders acting in the Building sector and worked as a team in order to make joint and strategic decisions and formulate adequate responses to the proposed issues, namely the support of investors. in the realization of their real estate projects. Each team was provided with a starting capital of 5,000,000…

The net banking income (GNP) of the Banking Union for Trade and Industry (UBCI) experienced a slight decline of 1.58% at the end of the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of the year 2020, have announced the leaders of this banking establishment based in Tunis. This GNP stood at 63.460 million dinars against 64.482 million dinars as of March 31, 2020, a decrease of 1.022 million dinars. For their part, banking operating income fell by 6.98% with an achievement that fell from 92.238 million dinars in the first quarter of 2020 to 85.800 million dinars a…

The Malian government and the World Bank signed on April 20, 2021, a financing agreement relating to the Project to promote access to finance, entrepreneurship and employment in Mali (Pafeem), approved on March 17 by the board of directors of the Bank. “This initiative amounting to 60 million US dollars, including 30 million in donations and 30 million in credit, aims to support the efforts of the government to face the challenges of financial inclusion, financing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the creation of income-generating activities, particularly for the benefit of young people and women ”, declared…

[Premium item offered] A few hours after the announcement of Idriss Deby’s disappearance at age 68, a Transitional Military Council (CMT) set up a transition phase in Chad. Coming to power by overthrowing Hissène Habré at the end of 1990, the outgoing president, officially re-elected on the day of his death for a sixth term...

Indicted for terrorism and criminal association during the last presidential campaign in Benin which saw the victory of outgoing President Patrice Talon on April 11, the opponent Reckya Madougou has still not been heard by a judge. The former Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals of Thomas Boni Yayi, whose party she heads,...

PC Gabon Upstream SA (PCGUSA), a subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), has awarded Danish operator Maersk Drilling an ultra-deep water exploration contract in Gabon for 24 million USD. This contract represents Maersk’s first drilling campaign in Gabon. The firm contract for a well with PCGUSA is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021, with an estimated duration of 60 days. The firm value of the contract also includes mobilization and demobilization costs. The 7th generation Maersk Viking drill vessel will be used to drill an ultra-deep water exploration well approximately 2,100m water depth in Block F13 off…

“President Idriss Deby Itno has just breathed his last. It is with deep bitterness that we announce this morning the death of Marshal of Chad Idriss Deby Itno “. This is in essence the gist of a statement made on Tuesday April 20 by army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna. Newly re-elected as head of his country after more than 30 years in power, Idriss Deby died of injuries received while commanding his army in fighting against rebels in the north, according to the spokesperson. . A transitional military council is set up, and a national transitional charter will be…

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow announced Monday April 19, 2021 in Kinshasa that Kibali Gold produced 191,612 ounces in the first quarter of 2021. “Several factors justify this success despite the presence of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. These are the operation of the underground mine, the continuous improvements of the feed, the rate of recovery of the plant and the projects aiming at various improvements such as an upgrade of the hoisting infrastructure ”, specified Mark Bristow. To these factors, he added strict compliance with the prevention protocols against Covid-19 which largely protected the mine from the impacts…

Emperor of construction in Burkina Faso, in the footsteps of his grandfather Oumarou Kanazoé, businessman Mahamadou Bonkoungou, 55, continues to gain influence beyond the borders of the former Upper Volta. In a few years, the boss of the diversified group Ebomaf founded in 1989, has penetrated the heart of West African powers, winning multiple markets...

Since early 2021, the one-stop business creation window of the Center for the Promotion of Investments (Cepici), responsible for facilitating the administrative formalities relating to the creation of businesses, has been operating at low speed. And this, in a silence that bothers more than one. When we know that its first manager, Emmanuel Esmel Essis, has for several years been pursuing a policy of encouraging foreign direct investment estimated today at nearly 800 billion CFA francs supported by a business creation within a maximum period of 72 hours. In December 2020, the offices had put a stop to a recovery…

The panorama of banks published by the National Credit Council (CNC) reveals a fluctuating market where Cameroonian, Pan-African banks and Western multinationals overlap. Over this period, which runs from February 2020 to February 2021, the fifteen banks operating in Cameroon have varying fortunes. In terms of customer deposits, four banks control over 50% of banking activity. At the head of the pack, is Afriland First Bank (AFB) consolidates its first place with 1005.7 billion FCFA collected this year against 930.3 billion a year ago, which means that this bank holds 18.52 % of market share. During the period indicated, the…

Bolloré Ports, an operator of port concessions, is implementing biodiversity conservation programmes. It is leading initiatives aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the areas in which it conducts its business. On 6 March 2021, Congo Terminal, the operator of the Port de Pointe-Noire container terminal, launched a series of awareness-raising days for families on biodiversity conservation. In partnership with Ecocentre Renatura, an NGO, Congo Terminal is raising the awareness of hundreds of families in Pointe-Noire of issues relating to sea turtles, the damage done by poaching, and the implications of water for the planet. Meridian Port Services (MPS) in Ghana…

Mali’s credit profile (Caa1 stable) reflects low income levels and weak economic diversification, which limits its ability to absorb economic shocks, Moody’s said in a report dated April 19, 2021. In addition, an increase the share of short-term domestic debt has increased liquidity risks over the past five years. The political risk remains high, due to the difficult security situation and the fight against violent extremism, which is a long-term constraint on the sovereign’s credit profile. In addition, the country’s institutional and governance indicators are very weak. Economic growth is expected to accelerate in 2021 despite a triple shock in…

Antananarivo- April 19th, 2021. A consortium led by Axian signed an agreement with Millicom regarding the sale of its shares in Tigo Tanzania and Zantel in Zanzibar. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The Axian-led alliance brings together distinguished experts in mobile communications, who have created and developed industry-leading brands in the Indian Ocean, Africa. Axian Group is a recognized pan-African infrastructures and services champion with strong entrepreneurial values and culture. Axian focusses on long-term investments in Financial Services, Energy, Real Estate, Telecom and Innovation across Africa and the Indian Ocean. Axian Telecom…

After three successful issues of Treasury stimulus bonds (ORD) with amounts varying between 22 and 40 billion FCFA, the State of Togo, through its General Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts, has moved upmarket, by obtaining on April 16, 2021 on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) an amount of 82.500 billion FCFA (123.750 million euros) at the end of its simultaneous issuance of ODRs with a maturity of 5 years, 7 years and 10 years. The exceptional nature of this issue is also due to the maturity of the securities issued, which ranges from…

In these lean times, Cameroon’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, continues to clean up the state’s payroll file by focusing on the cases of deceased civil servants who continued to receive their salaries. Almost 8.3 billion FCFA will have to be recovered from them. As of January 31, the Public Treasury received...

Everybody talks about it. Rapper Nas real name Nasir Jones is one of those who hit the jackpot following Coinbase’s IPO. The artist had invested in the cryptocurrency trading platform between $ 100,000 and $ 500,000 in 2013 through his investment firm QueensBride. The rapper was well inspired. Because, Coinbase was valued at 86 billion dollars from its first day on Wall Street, Wednesday, April 14, 2021, erasing the previous record of 81 billion set by Facebook in 2012. Friday, the title was trading at 339 dollars, which makes estimate the rapper’s fortune between 40 and 206 million dollars. The…

After a series of sanctions taken by the Biden administration in connection with accusations of Russian interference in the 2020 US presidential election, espionage and cyberattacks, Moscow, which had promised to retaliate, unveiled in turn on Friday April 16, a series of retaliatory measures against the United States. Washington had notably announced the expulsion of ten Russian diplomats, sanctions against several Russian personalities and organizations as well as the prohibition by the American Treasury on American banks to buy directly sovereign debt issued by Russia after June 14, 2021. The objective of the United States being to cool the ardor…

The after-tax profit of the Société de sucre de Grand Béréby (SOGB) recorded a sharp increase of 3.132 billion FCFA (4.698 million euros) at the end of the 2020 financial year compared to the 2019 financial year, the executives announced. of this company based in Cassandra in Ivory Coast. This profit amounted to CFAF 7.652 billion as of December 31, 2020 against CFAF 4.520 billion as of December 31, 2019, a sharp increase of 69.29%. According to company officials, the increase was due to a 7% increase in rubber sales and a 26% increase in palm oil sales. SOGB’s turnover…

Minister Delegate since July 2020 to Prime Minister Jean Castex, in charge of Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities, Elisabeth Moreno is helping to create a future think-tank responsible for reflecting on the policy of France in the matters covered by his department such as the fight against discrimination, the place of Islam in France...

While Washington and Brussels are looking for each other through stimulus plans and unclear vaccine strategies, Beijing is showing a vigorous trend at the end of the first quarter of 2021. The current recovery in Chinese growth, the result of a successful strategy against Covid- 19, is the product of its domestic demand, its turbo and main support in times of restriction of world trade. With 1.4 billion inhabitants, or 18.7% of the world population, the Middle Empire saw its GDP jump by 18.3% at the end of the first quarter of 2021, a level not recorded since 1992, at…

The United States has injected USD 38 million into the “Elimu ni jibu ya USAID” project (which means “education is USAID’s response” in French), launched by its ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mike Hammer, Wednesday April 14 in Bukavu, in the province of South Kivu. This 5-year project, which is part of a “cooperative agreement”, aims to improve the well-being of populations affected by conflicts and crises through increased access. inclusive, quality and gender-sensitive education services, strengthening the resilience of individuals and communities through education and improving collaboration between education stakeholders. Secondly, the “Elimu ni jibu ya USAID”…

By appointing the economist Kako Nubukpo, on April 14, within the new commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), the sub-regional body sends a strong signal within the framework of the reform that should lead to the emergence of the Eco, the new West African currency, in all ECOWAS countries (Economic Community...

The State of Mali will proceed, on April 20, 2021, to the payment of annual interest and the partial repayment of the capital of its bond loan called “State of Mali 6.50% 2017-2024” for an amount of 25,200 billion FCFA (37,800 million euros), announced the officials of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) based in Abidjan. Interest amounts to 5.200 billion FCFA and the capital to 20 billion FCFA. By decree dated March 03, 2017, the Malian Minister of Economy and Finance had authorized for a period of 21 days, from March 23, 2017, the issue by the National Directorate of…

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Commission has a new president. This is Senegalese Abdoulaye Diop, who takes office on May 8, 2021, when the term of office of outgoing President Abdallah Bouréima expires. Who himself announced this Wednesday April 14 through a press release. This new appointment comes following the 22nd ordinary session held by videoconference on March 25, 2021, where the Conference of Heads of State and Government of WAEMU “decided to entrust the presidency of the WAEMU Commission to the proposed candidate. by the Republic of Senegal and instructed that the appointment of the members…

In Mali, the government adopted a draft decree approving amendment n ° 1 of a contract relating to the supply, installation and commissioning of hybrid photovoltaic plants. diesel in the localities of Diondiori, Diafarabé and Kokry in the Mopti region located in the center of the country. “The amendment is concluded between the government of the Republic of Mali and the group (Sagemcom Energy and Télécom-Mali Sarl) for an amount of 148.297 million F CFA and an additional execution period of 20 weeks”, specifies a press release from the Council of Ministers. According to the Malian government, the agreement reached…