West African countries that are members of the Economic and Monetary Union have difficulty raising funds on the regional capital market. Financial market sources believe that investors are demanding higher interest rates amid tighter liquidity.

Senegal, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso cancelled or postponed bond issuance in recent weeks and Ivory Coast failed to issue local currency debt in March. Sources believe that the failure to raise the necessary funds in the regional market could force states to seek other, cheaper sources of funding, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid budget deficits.

A en croire le directeur of the financial services company Majoris Financial Group, based in Abidjan, Isidore Tanoe, “there is currently a serious liquidity crisis for states on the regional financial market. The proposed interest rates do not reflect the reality of the market.” For him, interest rates should be between 6.5% and 6.80%, instead of the 5.80% to 5.95% proposed by governments at the moment. Ivory Coast, the largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, has failed to raise 85 billion CFA francs ($142 million) through bonds issued at an interest rate of around 5.5%. According to the Ministry of Finance, it plans to raise 3,100 billion CFA francs to finance its 2023 budget, of which 2,500 billion CFA francs should come from the regional market.