Trade between Cameroon and the US reached $366 million (about XAF212.44 billion) in 2018, up 32% compared to 2017, the US embassy in the African country revealed.

Despite the progress, the source mentions, there is still room for more improvement. Back in 2014, figures were higher at XAF294.5 billion, XAF82 billion more, compared to 2018 results.

For Henry Barlerin (photo), US ambassador to Cameroon, American companies are well positioned as quality products and services suppliers to Cameroon to bolster its economic and social development. “Of course, for me, American companies are the best. They have experience in Africa and around the world and also they work with local partners to create products tailored to local customers,” he said yet denouncing a business environment not so favorable for US companies in Cameroon.

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The bank of central African countries Beac is offering XAF200 billion to refinance banks operating within the region. According to the related press release, the minimum interest rate required for this operation, which is taking place on 6 March 2019, is 3.5%.

For this operation, bidders must in turn deposit “assets eligible as collateral,” in accordance with the decision of 31 October 2013, we leant.

BRM

Net foreign assets (NFA) of the Bank of Central African Countries -Beac- are on a good path this year, the International Monetary Fund pointed in a recent report on common policies within the Cemac region.

“In 2019, assuming that the new IMF’s economic programs are approved with Congo and Equatorial Guinea to meet financing needs for their balance of payment, and that related to external budget aid is disbursed, the net foreign asset would increase by €1.1bln (XAF720 biillion) and would return to their projected bullish trend,” IMF indicated.

Whilst an improvement of Beac’s performance is forecasted for 2019, the bank however missed objectives with the IMF in 2018. The report states that the projected shortfall in the bank’s NFAs at €430 million, or about XAF281 billion at the end of 2018, is entirely due to the postponement of IMF-supported programs with Congo and Equatorial Guinea and subsequently of the external budget support valued at nearly €440 million, or XAF288 billion.

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Since 2010, when the Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) launched activities in Cameroon, nearly 61,000 jobs have been created, according to a statement recently published by Marthe Angeline Minja (photo), the Managing Director.

Ms. Minja says that IPA has made it easier for investors to obtain visas, fostering the signing of 171 agreements for more than XAF1,000 billion. “The Investment Promotion Agency has done a lot of things. We have supported the government in improving the business climate; we have created IPA reception offices at international airports. It will be extended to other airports,” she said.

According to Ms. Minja, despite the insecurity in some regions (Northwest, Southwest and the Far North) of Cameroon, the country remains a relatively popular destination. This is due in part to the natural resources and the bilingualism (English and French) in the country. Also, openings to the sea, and deep-water ports exist. Moreover, the country will soon be energy self-sufficient. “Cameroon is a large market,” she concluded.

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Banque Atlantique Cameroun, 54% owned by Atlantique Business International, which is mainly controlled by Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), reported a provisional net result of XAF6.5 billion as at December 31, 2018.

Banque Atlantique says the result was achieved with operations in seven regions, via 19 points of presence and more than 107,000 active customers for a total balance sheet of XAF226 billion. Net banking income in 2018 was XAF17 billion.

The Cameroonian subsidiary expects better performance in 2019, as it has just launched a mutual fund in the Cemac zone, thanks to a partnership with Harvest Asset Management.

With an initial outstanding amount of XAF11 billion, the fund aims to enhance capital appreciation through a range of assets consisting mainly of bonds issued on the financial markets and guaranteed by CEMAC Member States.

Let’s note that in 2017, Banque Atlantique Cameroun announced its share capital grew by XAF28 billion.

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In 2018, Cameroon implemented 76.3% of its public investment budget, down 15.6% compared to the 91.9% in 2017. This was revealed in the 2018 note by the national unit for monitoring the physical and financial implementation of the public investment budget.

Reasons for this poor performance, the commission quoted, are constraints related to the ongoing International Monetary Fund -IMF- economic program added to insecurity in some regions; reasons that hampered the achievement of certain public investment projects and reforms under implementation for public procurements and finances.

However, the main hurdle remains cash flow strains that has been hitting the country since a couple of months. Last year, work on many sites were disrupted since the public treasury failed to pay bills to some companies.

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Cameroon’s Treasury Directorate (DGT), headed by Moh Tangongho Sylvester, issued a note regarding financial commitments in 2018. According to the document, the government cleared its budget arrears up to XAF1,266.915 billion over the period.

This amount represents about a quarter of the outstanding balance and back in 2017, a government think tank, the analyze and research center for economic and social policies -Camercap- reported Cameroon has reached XAF6,000 in paying arrears of budget and off-budget expenditures, known as “outstanding payments”.

“The provisional situation of the outstanding budget payments by the State and decentralized local authorities as at 31 December 2018 remains manageable,” DGT said.  

This year, the directorate plans to continue reorganizing treasury payment authorities; the main challenge regarding cash management.

“The ongoing actions will significantly reduce the volume of outstanding payments and once completed, will totally clear them,” DGT explained.

S.A

Last year, the Cameroonian branch of French Société Générale fell out of the top 5 most performing African subsidiaries of the group. This was revealed in financial data provided by the company last February 7.

An analysis of this data however showed that, over the period reviewed, Société Générale Cameroon achieved its highest Net Banking Income (NBI) since 2015. The performance indicator was €104 million, or about XAF67.9 billion, in 2018, rising successively from €81 million (about XAF52.9 billion) in 2015, €77 million (about XAF50.2 billion) in 2016 and €92 million or about XAF60 billion in 2017.

Between 2017 and 2018, SG Cameroon’s NBI grew 13%, making it the 4th of the French group's 13 African subsidiaries in terms of year-on-year growth, behind the Guinean (+18.9%), Senegalese (+16.5%), Ivorian (+16%), and Tunisian (+13.3%) subsidiaries.

However, this growth in 2018 did not secure SG Cameroon’s 5^th position of most performing subsidiary since the place was grabbed by the Senegalese branch. The top of the list remains the Moroccan subsidiary which reported an NBI of €410 million (about XAF267.8 billion) over the period reviewed.

Brice R. Mbodiam

Between 2015 and 2017, Cameroon spent XAF9,634 billion in imports according to figures provided by the trade minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana (photo), during a cabinet meeting held January 31, 2019 in Yaoundé.

This amount, the official said, was mainly steered towards hydrocarbons (XAF1,652.1 billion over the period reviewed), motor vehicles and tractors (XAF653.6 billion), consumer products such as rice (XAF508.5 billion), fish and shellfish (XAF448 billion), and pharmaceutical products (XAF372 billion). Overall, the money spent to import these items accounted for 35% of the total import spending from 2015 to 2017 which in turn is twice the State budget for 2019 balanced up to XAF4,850 billion in revenues and expenditures.

“Our country imports foodstuffs as well as manufactured products that can actually be produced locally to satisfy not only local demand but also the regional market. These imports, we can well imagine, significantly weigh on our economy,” Mr. Atangana said while presenting “the strategy to boost made-in-Cameroon products to cut import”.

“Without claiming self-sufficiency, our county is capable of keeping import volumes in check by limiting it to what’s really needed, this means just to products that can boost our economy and make it more competitive,” he added.

Brice R. Mbodiam

Cameroonian Treasury issued January 30, 2019, a 52-week fungible treasury bills (BTAs) worth XAF10 billion on the securities market of the Bank of Central African States (Beac), we learnt.

Investors, who demand interest rates ranging 2.4 to 4%, were really interested in this operation and subscription rate reached 235%, according to Beac.

Welcoming the success of this operation, the Cameroonian Treasury announces a new 52-week BTA issue for February 6, 2019. Another XAF10 billion is expected to be raised through the operation.

Let’s note that this year Cameroon seeks XAF260 billion on the capital market through the issuance of public securities.

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