(Business in Cameroon) - According to Mohamed El Kettani, CEO of the Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa, the Cameroonian subsidiary (SCB) of this group is looking to play a decisive role in the development of a dynamic capital market in the country.

“We have a demand and the proof is that we have taken the decision to create an asset management subsidiary in Cameroon. It will also deal with public debt”, he revealed in an interview with the pro-government daily Cameroon-Tribune, on the fringes of the latest edition of the Africa Development Forum, which recently ended in Casablanca, Morocco.

According to Mr Kettani, the creation in Cameroon of Attijari Securities Central Africa on 10 February 2016, with a scope of action covering Central Africa, “demonstrates SCB Cameroun’s will, with the support of its parent company, Attijariwafa Bank, to make a modest contribution to the modernisation of capital markets in Cameroon. We will use all our expertise and savoir-faire to serve the country”.

We can recall that the Cameroonian subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank has already arranged two of the four domestic debenture loans of the Cameroonian State. There was, in 2013, a loan of FCfa 50 billion on the Douala Stock Exchange (Dsx), and another one of FCfa 150 billion launched in 2014 on the same market.

Both operations were over-subscribed. The 2013 debenture loan, totalling FCfa 50 billion, even had subscriptions for a total amount of FCfa 80 billion. To the great pleasure of the Cameroonian State, who then requested and obtained from the local financial market regulatory authority, an over-allocation of the resources initially requested.

BRM