Foreign exchange market

In a peaceful market before the PCE indicator on consumer prices in May in the United States, a figure used by the American Central Bank (Fed) to assess inflation, the euro rose slightly against the greenback. Since the beginning of the week, the euro has recovered 0.66%, but remains down 1.51% compared to last Wednesday, before the last meeting of the Fed. Currency traders are watching inflation indicators to assess whether the Fed, which is currently promising to keep its monetary policy unchanged to avoid weighing on the economic recovery, will have to change its tune.

Cryptocurrency

Faced with competition from Bitcoin, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and central banks are fighting back. They want to accelerate the launch of state digital currencies and payment systems for the general public, via blockchain technology. The objective is to better control trade, while world trade today is more than 80% denominated in dollars. Meanwhile, bitcoin sank to $34,313. The stablecoin Titan lost 100% of its value last week, dropping in a matter of hours from around $60 to virtually zero.

Money Market

The Central African Financial Market Surveillance Commission (COSUMAF) has decided to issue licenses to seven new market intermediaries whose activities cover all the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) . This is the company Horus Investment Capital SA approved as a brokerage firm; David Clay Azambou Dongmo, Patrick Fomethe Momo, Issongo La-Ngatsesse Kiba and Sondia Gwet wife Nkembe, all four approved as Financial Investment Advisors; the company Okalla Ahanda & Associés as Statutory Auditors with an issuing entity making public calls for savings and the company LCB BANK as Custodian of an approved collective investment scheme.

In the 1st quarter of 2021, the WAEMU States succeeded in mobilizing as of March 31, 2021, 1,577.10 billion CFA francs on the public securities market. For the 2 ^nd quarter, Benin carried out an issue of recovery bonds (ORD) equivalent to the Treasury with a maturity of 3 years, on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA). The operation resulted in a total amount of 66 billion FCFA. Investors strongly subscribed to the issue of assimilable Treasury ORDs with a 3-year maturity launched by the State of Benin, with a coverage rate of the amount put up for auction of 304.40%. Also, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso respectively raised 38.500 billion FCFA and 76.229 billion FCFA on the regional financial market. In the CEMAC zone, the Cameroonian Public Treasury carried out its 2nd issue of assimilable Treasury bonds (OTA) in this 2nd quarter of 2021. For this 6-year OTA operation, remunerated at 6%, the Cameroonian Public Treasury finally received an envelope of 34.8 billion FCFA, out of the 50 billion FCFA requested.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Morocco is distinguished as the best issuer of international bonds in Africa, 2nd best issuer in the "Emerging Markets" category and best responsible for the international financial market in the Africa region. This distinction confirms the success of the bond issue, which had involved a volume of 3 billion dollars in December 2020.

Stock market

The Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) started the week with prices down. But at the end of the week, the market returns to strong transactions. The BRVM 10 index and the BRVM Composite index (the general index of the Stock Exchange), are green again, recording variable increases at the end of the trading session on Thursday, June 24, 2021. The market capitalization of the market for shares recorded an increase of 21.364 billion FCFA, going from 4815.200 billion FCFA the day before to 4836.564 billion FCFA this Thursday, June 24, 2021. That of the bond market ended the trading day up from 2.46 billion to 6620.121 billion FCFA against 6617.661 billion FCFA the day before.

The Executive Committee of the World Federation of Stock Exchanges (WFE) has approved the application for admission of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) as a member of the Federation. Thus, the BRVM is now a full member of the WFE. It thus joins eight other African stock exchanges. At the same time, the Board of Directors of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) and the Central Depository/Bank of Settlement (Dc/Br) reappointed Parfait Kouassi as head of the Board of Directors of the stock market institution.

Raw materials

Oil prices are benefiting from the prospects for economic recovery, which are boosting fuel consumption. In Iran, the election of the ultraconservative Ebrahim Raïsi makes negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue more difficult, while an easing of sanctions would change the balance of the black gold market. Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which alone claim more than 60% of the world production of cocoa beans, have created a framework for bilateral reflection and action. This Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Initiative in the cocoa sector constitutes the official framework for exchanges which will make it possible to jointly coordinate a cocoa policy for the purpose of promoting, favoring and defending the collective interests of the two countries on the international market. , as well as in all international forums. The Ivorian government and the IDA Fund have signed a financing agreement to support a food sector development project and the creation of thousands of jobs in rural areas in Côte d'Ivoire. With a total amount of 125 billion FCFA from the financial institution, the Food Value Chains Development Project (PDC2V) aims on the one hand to remove the major constraints to the growth of the agro-food sector and on the other hand , to stimulate the development of more inclusive, resilient and competitive food value chains. In the same week, the Nigerien government set up an agricultural development program called “Nigeriens Feeding Nigeriens (3N)”. Thanks to this program, the country has risen to the rank of leading producer of millet and sorghum in WAEMU.

Companies

The Ivorian tobacco company (SITAB) ended 2020 with a net profit of 8.542 billion FCFA against 5.291 billion FCFA in 2019, an increase of 61%. Its turnover increased by 22 billion FCFA, from 95 billion FCFA in 2019 to 116 billion FCFA in 2020. Thus, it will pay an annual net dividend of 7.831 billion FCFA to its shareholders. This corresponds to a net dividend per share of 436.123 FCFA against zero in 2019. It should be noted that SITAB has gone four consecutive years without distributing a dividend to its shareholders. For their part, officials of Société Générale Côte d'Ivoire (SGCI) announced that the institution's net income increased from 14.134 billion FCFA in the first quarter of 2020 to 14.809 billion FCFA in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 675 million FCFA in absolute value. This increase is estimated at 5%. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, the net turnover excluding taxes of Filatures, tissages, sacs, Cote d'Ivoire (Filtisac) SA also increased by 4% compared to the first quarter of 2020. business stood at 9.921 billion FCFA against 9.531 billion FCFA as of March 31, 2020, i.e. a decline of 390 million FCFA in absolute value. On the other hand, the African Rubber Plantation Company (SAPH) in Côte d'Ivoire posted 1.506 billion FCFA in net income, a decline of 39%. While rubber prices continued to soar in the 1st quarter of 2021, the results of SAPH, a subsidiary of the SIFCA group, are down. Turnover fell by 6% compared to the 1 ^st quarter of 2020, while net income fell by 39%. A decline in turnover attributable to the fall in volumes sold despite constant machined production.

As part of the construction of a biomass-based energy production unit that will operate with oil palm waste, the company Palm CI receives financial support from Biovea Energy. This plant will need approximately 450,000 tonnes of waste from Palm CI. The company will provide 30% of the needs on its own plantations and will buy the remaining 70% from a group made up of 12,000 small planters. This additional sales opportunity should last 25 years, the duration of the concession granted to Biovea.

The Vista group of Burkinabè Simon Tiemtoré buys the International Bank for Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Burkina (Biciab) and establishes a foothold in UEMOA. The June 22 acquisition expands Vista's bank branch network in Burkina Faso, which already had 22 branches in Guinea, 9 branches in The Gambia and 19 branches in Sierra Leone.

Banks and Insurance

The first discussions of the African Development Bank Group's Annual Meetings focus on the management of African debt, bold internal reforms and efficient international support to revive African economies. In addition to the resolution of African debt, participants also insisted on the need for internal reforms and efficient international support to revive African economies and avoid over-indebtedness of the continent. Other challenges should be taken up to better ensure economic recovery. Among other things, the fight against corruption; efficiency of spending; budgetary discipline; the establishment of strong institutions for public spending; the fight against illicit financial flows; better financial management; strengthening the links between debt, growth, and governance; the digitization of the collection and expenditure circuit, to name but a few.

African finance ministers and the World Bank Group have come together to accelerate the acquisition of vaccines on the continent and avoid a third wave. The World Bank (WB) and the African Union (AU) are partnering to support the rapid vaccination of nearly 400 million people in Africa.

Deogratias Mutombo Mwana Nyembo, Governor of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) announces that the key rate has now been lowered by two points, from 10.5% to 8.5%. This decision is in line with the prospect of maintaining macroeconomic stability over the coming months, the source said. The reduction in the key rate also aims to lower the cost of refinancing for banks in order to enable them to easily rebalance their positions and improve the conditions for their assistance to the economy.

According to data from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the average weekly volume of interbank transactions in the West African Monetary Union (UEMOA), all maturities combined, increased by 54. 5% at the end of April 2021 compared to the previous month. WAEMU interbank transactions stood at CFAF 496.9 billion during the period under review against 321.7 billion in March 2021. The weighted average rate of the said transactions stood at 2.57% against 2.70% the last month.

The World Bank has approved additional financing of 36 million dollars from the International Development Association (IDA), or 19.89 billion FCFA for Benin and its neighbor Togo. The two countries can now implement a contiguous cross-border intervention to combat the advanced degradation of their coastline. The new financing approved by the World Bank provides additional resources to the West African Coastal Management Program (WACA) for physical investments to combat coastal erosion in Benin and Togo.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has granted Cameroon financing of CFAF 106 billion for the third phase of the transport sector support programme: development of national road No. 11, the Ring Road. It is a linear of about 365 km and allows the interconnection of five departments of the North-West while forming a loop from Bamenda to Bamenda through Bambui, Ndop, Babessi, Kumbo, Nkambe, Misaje, Nyos , Wum and Bafut with a connection to the Nigerian border from the locality of Misaje.

BOAD announces the granting of a loan of 20 billion CFA francs to the Industrial Platform of Adétikopé (PIA). Through this support for the creation of the Adétikopé industrial platform, the development bank intends to restore Togo's industrial sector.

Togo has concluded a financing agreement with Exim Bank of India aimed at releasing approximately 22 billion FCFA, for the electrification of 350 localities by photovoltaic solar systems, increasing the commitments of the financial institution in favor of energies in Togo. This is the Indian bank's third line of credit to boost electrification in the West African country.

The prestigious American magazine Global Finance has named Attijariwafa bank among the best financial innovation laboratories worldwide in the "The Innovators 2021" ranking. The editors-in-chief of the Anglo-Saxon monthly, with the contribution of experts in the sector, recognize this year Wenov by Attijariwafa bank, the group entity entirely dedicated to innovation, as a benchmark brand in the deployment of instruments of innovation and innovative entrepreneurship allowing the development of banking solutions as well as new technologies and digital infrastructures of the most inclusive.

Financial crimes

Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Wednesday that Malta has been placed on a "grey list" by the global anti-money laundering and terrorism watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force. The FATF decision comes after years of international criticism of Malta's policy decisions, from the sale of its national passports to the failure to take legal action against officials named in the case. of the Panama Papers.

Regional growth

Cross-border trade between Benin and its neighbor Nigeria is plagued by some irregularities. On Monday, through the Nigerian site Shipsandports, the vice-president of the Nigerian Institute of Navigation (NIS), Segun Elufioye-Johnson denounced acts of scam taking place on the Sèmè-Lagos border road . At the heart of these misappropriations are police, customs, joint military border patrol and immigration officials.

The Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene announces for this year the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), developed especially for intra-African trade and being tested in some West African countries. The tool should be operational "by the end of 2021".

During the summit of ECOWAS Heads of State, Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou presented a new roadmap. The launch of the eco is now for 2027. The process, which has been on hold since 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will resume in 2022.