Foreign exchange market

At the end of the week, the dollar finds itself weakened by the GDP and unemployment figures. The greenback fell back slightly against most European currencies. U.S. GDP grew 6.5% in the second quarter of 2021 at an annualized rate, according to the Commerce Department's first-ever estimate. The Congolese franc is experiencing some difficulties on the official exchange markets. This depreciation is dictated by the scarcity of dollars in the foreign exchange markets, since major export mining products have fallen in price on the international market, in particular copper and cobalt.

Cryptocurrencies

The Chinese cryptocurrency exchange site, Binance, is now arousing the suspicion of certain hedge funds, according to the “Financial Times”. Two Anglo-Saxon hedge funds no longer trade or have stopped certain activities they carried out via the Chinese cryptocurrency exchange platform. Hedge funds are no longer ready to take all the risks. Despite these threats, Binance is considering listing its US entity.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has developed the eNaira project, the country's digital currency to improve financial inclusion, simplify payments and facilitate cross-border trade. It announced on July 22, 2021 that the start of the pilot phase of this project is for October 1, 2021.

Money Market

The Directorate General of Treasury and Public Accounting of Togo collected an amount of 27.500 billion FCFA on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA). This was at the end of its issue of recovery bonds (ORD) from the Treasury with a 10-year maturity, organized in partnership with the UMOA-Titres agency based in Dakar. At the end of the auction, the UMOA-Titres agency listed 86.705 billion FCFA in overall bids from investors for an amount put up for auction of 25 billion FCFA, i.e. a rate of coverage of the amount put up for auction. of 346.82%.

The General Directorate of Treasury and Public Accounting of Burkina Faso raised an amount of 55 billion FCFA. This was at the end of its issue of recovery bonds (ORD) of the Treasury with maturities of 3 years and 10 years organized in partnership with the Agence UMOA-Titres based in Dakar.

Stock market

The Weekly Review of the Markets published by the Management and Intermediation Company (SGI) Impaxis Securities indicates that the stock market of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) continues its unperturbed progression. It aligns four consecutive sessions of increase during the week of July 19 to 23, 2021. The activity indicators show a volume of 753,449 securities traded for a total value of 1,971,859,292 FCFA.

The market capitalization of the BRVM shares market increased by 12.356 billion FCFA. The Top 5 of the strongest price increases are respectively occupied by the shares Tractafric Motors Côte d'Ivoire, Vivo Energy Côte d'Ivoire, Bolloré Côte d'Ivoire, Sicable, SMB Côte d'Ivoire. Flop 5 of the biggest price drops is respectively occupied by the shares SODECI Côte d'Ivoire, Crown Siem Cote d'Ivoire, Total Senegal and Filtisac Côte

Following the bond issues by public call for savings by the Republic of Congo and the Gabonese State, Emrald Securities Services Bourse (ESS BOURSE) announces the first quotations of the securities "EOCG 6.25% NET 2021-2026" and " EOG 6% NET 2021-2026”. At the close of these various operations, the results were as follows: "the EOCG 6.25% Net 2021-2026 loan", the subscription period of which ran from March 12 to April 21, 2021, was oversubscribed by of 113.23%.

Raw materials

Oil prices betray investors' questions about demand and the return to the market for Iranian barrels and OPEC+ on the supply side. On the other hand, the progression of Covid-19 is limiting the consumption of black gold worldwide through measures restricting the movement of goods and people. Taking advantage of a fall in reserves in the United States as well as a weakened dollar, to get closer to their recent peaks, the two contracts ended up.

The Interprofessional Council of the Coffee-Cocoa Sectors of Togo (CICC-Togo) organized with the technical and financial support of the Coordinating Committee for the Coffee and Cocoa Sectors (CCFCC) and the Technical Unit of Coffee and Cocoa (UTCC) an awareness campaign for coffee and cocoa producers in the municipality of Blitta 3. The campaign was placed under the theme “Importance of routine maintenance on the productivity of coffee and cocoa farms in Togo”. The objective is to support producers in their orchard management activities to create a framework for sharing difficulties and discussing issues and new challenges and market requirements. At least 4,000 producers will benefit from this support.

Companies

The managers of the water distribution company of Côte d'Ivoire (SODECI) have announced that their shareholders will receive for the 2020 financial year, a net global dividend of 3.037 billion FCFA, or 4.556 million euros. The 2020 financial year ended with a profit after tax of 4.599 billion FCFA, up 45% compared to that of 2019. The same upward trend was noted for turnover (+32%) with an achievement standing at 129 billion FCFA against 98.229 billion FCFA in 2019.

For the 2020 financial year, the shareholders of the Société de Limonaderie et brasseries d'Afrique (Solibra) located in Abidjan will receive on August 3, 2021, an annual dividend of 4.503 billion FCFA, i.e. a net dividend per share of 2736 FCFA. La Solibra, which had not paid dividends in 2019, saw its turnover and other income increased from 4.355 billion FCFA to 229.359 billion FCFA.

For the 2020 financial year, the shareholders of the Ivorian Cable Company (SICABLE) will receive on August 2, 2021, an annual dividend of 787.360 million FCFA. This amount corresponds to a net dividend per share of 133 FCFA against 75 FCFA in 2019. SICABLE's 2020 financial year ended with a net result of 1.166 billion FCFA against 638 million FCFA in 2019, an increase of 83%.

The USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub has awarded co-investment grants to three promising Senegalese companies: Club Tiossane, an online fresh produce delivery company, and two women-led agribusinesses , Biosene and Enterprise Aissatou Gaye (EAG). These investments will help these businesses meet market demands, create jobs and mitigate the economic impact of the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Banks and Insurance

The managing director of the financial institution, Versus Bank, was in Benin's capital Cotonou as part of the signing of a framework partnership agreement. This agreement is part of the financing of SMEs/SMIs in Côte d'Ivoire. Thus, in collaboration with Fagace, Versus Bank will implement a mechanism to facilitate access to financing for SMEs/SMIs.

While Moroccan and French banking groups have lost ground in 2020, the major banking brands based in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) are making the effort to impose themselves despite the health crisis. BCEAO data indicates that in 2020, Ecobank maintained its position as the leading banking group in terms of market share in WAEMU. it is followed by Société Générale, Bank of Africa (BOA), Atlantic Business International (ABI), the Abidjan holding company of Moroccan Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), Coris Bank International (CBI), Attijariwafa bank (AWB), NSIA Banque , UBA of the businessman Tony Elumelu, and the Malian BDM.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Eti) saw its revenue increase by 7% to $825 million. Despite a difficult operating environment with the third wave of coronavirus infections threatening the economic recovery, the bank's pretax profit rose 23% to $210 million.

Attijari bank has published its activity indicators for the ^2nd quarter of 2021. These data reveal a 5.82% increase in net banking income (NBP) in the first half to 259 million dinars. Customer deposits also increased by 11.02% compared to June 30, 2020. Sight deposits and savings accounts grew by 11.53% and 9.90% respectively.

Leader on the Togolese market, Orabank Togo has launched a reliability operation to update its customer database. On the one hand, the operation allows the bank to comply with regulatory standards, and above all to have easy access to its customers. On the other hand, they will now have more services that meet their needs, and will no longer have to spend more time at the counters.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) confirms its financial solidity with the confirmation of the AAA rating. The confirmation of the AAA rating by Fitch Ratings testifies to the very strong support enjoyed by the institution.

The Barnoin Informatique / Sinii consortium and Auto Civil Liability Insurance in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire have signed an agreement for the digitization and management of Auto certificates. o This contract aims to secure the generation of encrypted electronic certificate numbers with encryption of all transactions.

Governance

Rated Ba3 by Moody's, Côte d'Ivoire obtained a BB- rating with a stable outlook from S&P and Fitch, thus confirming its good economic performance. The country is now part of the circle of "double B" category ratings of the three largest international rating agencies. This rating comes shortly after that of the Standard and Poor's agency, which had also decided to raise the sovereign rating of the country to BB- with a stable outlook, thus ranking it in 2nd place among the best-rated sub-Saharan African countries. , just behind Botswana (BB+) and at the same level as South Africa.

Financial crimes

The Court of Cassation rejected the appeal of Vice President of Equatorial Guinea Teodorin Obiang on Wednesday. And for good reason, he was definitively condemned in France for having fraudulently constituted a luxurious heritage in a part of the case of "ill-gotten gains". Teodorin Obiang, 52, was sentenced by the Paris Court of Appeal in February 2020 to a three-year suspended prison sentence, a fine of 30 million euros and the confiscation of all his property seized for "laundering of abuse corporate assets, embezzlement of public funds and breach of trust" between 1997 and 2011. This is the first time that a foreign leader has been definitively convicted in France in a so-called "ill-gotten gains" case.

Sani Yaya, the Togolese Minister of Finance created, by decree, a "committee responsible for monitoring the reimbursement of funds collected by structures illegally carrying out monetary and financial activities". To submit illegal traders to an effective reimbursement of their members, he issued an order which will "organize meetings with the managers of the structures concerned, carry out verification missions of these structures, assess their financial situation and their assets, and stop the methods of reimbursement of the funds collected”.

According to the Investigator, the main private daily in Niamey, several civil servants have been imprisoned for their presumed involvement in the embezzlement of eight billion CFA francs from the public treasury. In mid-July, Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in February, revealed that he had ordered an inspection of the Nigerien Treasury to investigate these embezzlements. According to the services of the Public Prosecutor in Niamey, the inspection concerned funds “taken out by an agent of the transport service of the presidency of the republic”. The inspection report uncovered a chain of alleged complicities involving senior Treasury officials, politicians and ministers, according to Le Courrier, another private Nigerien newspaper.

Regional growth

As a prelude to the 30th ^ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the Inter-African Conference on Social Welfare (CIPRES), the Committee of Experts began the preparatory meeting. For two days, this session devotes the study of the files to be submitted to the ministers. This meeting, which brings together all the member countries, began yesterday with the meeting of the committee of experts responsible for studying all the dossiers to be submitted to the ministers on Thursday 29 July. Thus, they had proposed, among other things, draft decisions, regulations, directives and profound reforms likely to make the Social Security Institutions more efficient in the exercise of their noble and exalting mission.

The Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD) have signed a partnership agreement to boost the digital transformation sector. The objective is to jointly conduct programs and projects in the digital economy sector within the space. Through the partnership agreement, the Commission and BOAD agree to articulate their cooperation around three main axes, namely, the improvement of the legislative and regulatory framework of the digital economy sector, the development of regional infrastructure of the digital economy as well as the development of digital public services in the WAEMU zone. A total of eight programs and projects have already been selected as part of this future collaboration.

Central African countries have piled up a colossal debt vis-à-vis China. According to an official document of the Chinese government entitled "Chinese loan to African governments", it appears that China's claims on the CEMAC space amount to more than 17 billion dollars. At the forefront of claims, is Cameroon with an estimated debt of 6.202 billion dollars, followed respectively by Congo 5.390 billion dollars and Equatorial Guinea 3.020 billion dollars which form a top three. Gabon registers 1.681 billion dollars, while Chad and the Central African Republic total nearly 2 billion dollars cumulatively.

About two months after the installation of the 2021-2024 mandate of the Regional Consular Chamber of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (CCR-UEMOA), the Technical Commission for General and Institutional Affairs (CTAGI) met around the "rereading of the Internal Regulations of the CCR-UEMOA" in accordance with the recommendations and resolution n°01 of the 21st ^Elective General Assembly of May 31, 2021. This meeting also enabled the committee to take stock of the implementation of the recommendations made at the last meeting in September 2020.