“(Business in Cameroon) - The securities buyback program on the secondary market will be concluded at end August 2021,” the central bank of CEMAC states informs in its recent research paper. In the paper, the bank adds that the program will not be renewed.
Through this revelation, in an article written by Ivan Bacale Ebe Molina, BEAC director of studies, finance, and international relations, the BEAC is somehow admitting the mixed results of this program initially set up to inject XAF600 billion into CEMAC countries’ treasuries to help fight the fallouts of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the central bank’s stats, from November 2020 to May 31, 2021, XAF215.6 billion of securities were bought back on the secondary market. This represents a mere 5.7% of the public securities issued by member countries in the local market during the period.
Also, the volume of securities bought back represents just a little over one-third of the funds set aside for the program despite the six-month extension decided in March 2021. Even countries such as the Central African Republic and Chad with obvious fund needs somehow shunned the program. For credible sources, this situation arose because market professionals deem the program overly complex.
BRM