(Business in Cameroon) - With the recent decrease in oil revenues which represent between 20 and 80% of public revenues in the CEMAC area, the States in this economic community are now doing battle in the government securities market of the Central Bank (BEAC), in order to cover their cash management problems. For example, for the sole day of next Wednesday 20 July, three member states of CEMAC (Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea) will try to mobilise a total envelope of between FCfa 20 and 22 billion, we learn from the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).

Cameroon, the main facilitator in this market since its launch in 2011, with 16 dealers in Treasury securities, that the country has authorised in this market, aims to raise FCfa 7 billion by means of an issuance of fungible treasury bonds with a 52-week term. Gabon, crowned by a subscription rate of 254% registered during its last issuance of Treasury bonds with the purpose of raising FCfa 5 billion last 13 July, will launch 12 dealerships in the battle, in order to try and collect between FCfa 3 and 5 billion.

The operation will be made by the issuance of OAT fungible Treasury bonds, with a 2 year maturity term, advises a communiqué from the BEAC.

On its side, Equatorial Guinea, the new oil Eldorado in the CEMAC area, which has ignored the securities market of the BEAC since its creation up until now, is also in the race next 20 July, to try to mobilise FCfa 10 billion by issuing BTA - fungible Treasury bonds - with a maturity of 52 weeks. 10 dealers in Treasury securities are in line to help the Equatorial Guinean Treasury to achieve this objective. With the arrival on the BEAC government securities market of these countries, which are now burdened with budget deficits since the trigger of the crisis around the international price for the barrel of oil, only Congo remains for the time being outside this market, that is more and more popular with countries in the CEMAC area.

According to statistics revealed after the first meeting in 2016 of the Supervisory Body of the Task Team (CRCT - Conseil de surveillance de la Cellule de règlement et de conservation des titres), held on 14 April 2016 in the headquarters of the Central Bank in Yaoundé, the issuance of government securities by States have doubled in 2015 compared to 2014.

These operations cumulated in FCfa 635.8 billion, at the end of February 2016, against FCfa 312.4 billion over the same period last year. "This sharp rise in States resorting to the securities market falls within an economic context marked by tightening of banking liquidity observed in the first semester of 2015, related to weakness in international oil prices for the majority of the economies in CEMAC", BEAC explained in the official communiqué.

Brice R. Mbodiam