(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon issued on Feb 27 26-week treasury bills on the Beac securities market seeking XAF50 billion, the highest amount sought by the country on this market since it was launched in 2011.

Before this operation, the Cameroonian treasury had never raised more than XAF10 billion through treasury bills issuance. As a reminder, a week ago, Cameroon issued 3-year fungible treasury bonds (OTAs) on the same market, aimed at raising XAF20 billion and still, the country has not requested such an envelope for at least 2 years for operations in this category of government securities, which also have become very rare. Official results of this OTA operation showed that investors only subscribed XAF15.6 billion and the government finally collected XAF14.7 billion.

This series of record fundraising on Beac securities market translates the strains on cash flow facing the Cameroonian treasury, in a context of declining oil revenues and increasing insecurity.

The country has indeed been spending increased amounts to address security issues since 2013, with fight against Boko Haram in the Far-North, against Anglophone separatists in the northwest and southwest, and recently against herders’ kidnappers in Adamaoua.

In a report dated April 2016, the International Monetary Fund IMF revealed that the fight against Nigerian sect Boko Haram in the Far-North cost 1 to 2% of Cameroon’s GDP over the period.

Brice R. Mbodiam