(Business in Cameroon) - On December 29, a Presidential decree authorized the Minister of Economy Alamine Ousmane Mey to sign an €83.5 million (XAF55 billion) Murabaha financing agreement [ed. note:  a sort of credit sale agreement] with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). 

The monies thus raised will fund SONARA’s import of oil products. Indeed, since May 2019 when a fire outbreak destroyed part of SONARA’s petroleum products refining plant, Cameroon has been importing all of the finished petroleum products consumed on the national territory.  In that regard, every quarter, the country launches a call for tenders to select oil traders who would supply the products needed. 

For public authorities, such supply mechanisms have proven beneficial given that it helps record substantial savings. According to figures published by the Ministry of Water and Energy, between June 2019 and June 2020, the country saved XAF150 billion, meaning an average of XAF25 billion saved quarterly. 

BRM