Foreign exchange market

While the pound rises, the European currency remains stable against the dollar. The euro stabilized against the dollar on Thursday, after suffering the day before from an intervention by a more optimistic than expected Fed official, while the British pound strengthened after the outcome of the Bank of England meeting. . For traders, US jobs matter because good data could give the US central bank (Fed) leeway to tighten monetary policy.

Cryptocurrencies

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published a proposal on the regulation of cryptocurrencies. This committee believes that, if banks offer cryptocurrencies, they will have to cover the risks so that their customers do not run any risk.

Money Market

At the end of its simultaneous issuance by auction of assimilable treasury bonds (BAT) with a maturity of 91 days and 364 days, the State of Côte d'Ivoire, through its General Directorate of Treasury and Public Accounting, raised an amount of 56.307 billion FCFA on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA). For the third quarter of 2021, intentions to issue public securities by auction expressed by the Ivorian authorities amount to 355 billion FCFA.

At the end of its issue of treasury recovery bonds (ODR) with maturities of 3 and 10 years, the State of Mali, through the National Directorate of Treasury and Public Accounting, raised this August 4, 2021 on the market financing of the WAMU an amount of 50 billion FCFA. After auction, 159.181 billion FCFA of total bids from investors were recorded by the Agence UMOA-Titres out of an amount auctioned by the issuer of 50 billion FCFA.

The National Directorate of Treasury and Public Accounting of Mali, proceeded Wednesday, August 4, to the simultaneous issuance of Recovery Bonds (OAT). The amount sought, ie 50 billion FCFA, was retained at the end of an operation covered up to 318.36%. Subscriptions to this first intervention by Mali, in August 2021, far exceeded the amount sought, leaving the possibility for the organizers to increase the amount retained.

Stock market

Dr Edoh Kossi Amenounve has risen to the top of global finance. The Managing Director of the Stock Exchange (BRVM) was admitted to the Nasdaq Exchange Review Council as a member for a three-year term until 2024. He is the only African member of the said Committee and probably historically the 1st African to integrate a Nasdaq instance at this level since its creation in 1971.

The Association of African Stock Exchanges (ASEA) and the computer company DirectFN signed a contract in Abidjan for the interconnection of African stock exchanges. The objective is to acquire a technological platform for quotation called "AELP", aimed at interconnecting stock exchanges in Africa. The African Stock Exchanges Interconnection Project (AELP) aims in particular to stimulate pan-African investment flows, promote innovations that support diversification for investors and address the issue of market depth and liquidity.

BRVM officials announced that the first listing of the bond loan entitled "TPBF 6.50% 2021 - 2031", which had been launched in June 2021 by the State of Burkina Faso and admitted to the Bonds Compartment of the BRVM, will take place on Thursday, August 12, 2021. According to BRVM officials, the IPO procedure retained for the first trading day is the ordinary procedure with a reference price set at 10,000 FCFA. The first trading price will be determined by matching buy and sell orders.

The CBT Bourse and its partner the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, Mines and Crafts (CCIAMA) Chad organized a seminar to present the financial market of Chad and CEMAC at the Résidence de N'Djamena. The exchanges with the participants made it possible to remove the gray areas and to answer all the concerns of the interested actors and the local press who made the trip. The presentations made mainly focused on the structuring of the financial market, the place of the CBT Bourse, the conditions for accessing it and its tax regime.

Raw materials

The oil market ignores the tensions between Americans and Iranians in the Gulf. After a difficult start to the week, oil prices rebounded slightly. The week was marked by the resumption of the number of contaminations around the world, the prospect of possible new confinements dampening the enthusiasm of the oil market. On average, more than 600,000 daily cases have been detected worldwide in the past seven days, an increase of 68% compared to the low reached in mid-June mainly attributable to the spread of the Delta variant with increased contagiousness.

The Congolese government wants to rehabilitate the old plantation sites, through an agricultural policy centered on the organization of peasant groups. The supervising Minister Paul Valentin Ngobo presented to the departmental heads of agriculture a new cocoa development policy. The planters and the workforce are willing to work to boost the sector, reassures the agricultural departmental director of Likouala, Gamard Diahouakou.

The members of the Engaged Chocolatiers Club on mission in Togo, went to Badou (Litimé) in the prefecture of Wawa to identify and validate the site chosen for the installation of the post-harvest processing center for high-end cocoa in Togo. . This activity aims to finalize the partnership agreement with cocoa producers in Togo.

Companies

The 2020 financial year of Bolloré Transports et Logistics Côte d'Ivoire ended with a net profit of 13.454 billion FCFA, up sharply by 43.40%. Turnover was down by 4.47%, standing at 84.240 billion FCFA against 88.182 billion FCFA in 2019. Thus, the shareholders of this handling company will receive on August 11, 2021, for the 2020 financial year, an annual net dividend of 5.443 billion FCFA.

The Ivorian Kone Dossongui is preparing to inject more than 39 billion FCFA into a cement factory in Kribi. The International Cement Company (SIC), a subsidiary of Atlantic Group, a conglomerate controlled by the Ivorian businessman Kone Dossongui signed an agreement on August 4, 2021 with the Investment Promotion Agency (API) of Cameroon. The agreement offers SIC the facilities provided for by the 2013 law on incentives for private investment in the Republic of Cameroon, as part of the project to build a cement plant with a capacity of one million tonnes in the industrial zone. - Kribi port.

Banks and Insurance

In its monthly statistics bulletin, the BCEAO analyzed the situation of the UEMOA interbank market. The average weekly volume of transactions, all maturities combined, stood at 495.3 billion in June 2021. The WAEMU interbank market recorded an average weekly volume of transactions up 14.2%, all maturities combined. It stood at 495.3 billion in June 2021. The weighted average rate stood at 2.59%.

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) is carrying out a liquidity injection operation of 250 billion FCFA (452 million dollars) on the money market of the sub-region. The objective is to enable economic agents to have the necessary means with a view to stimulating investment and boosting consumption. Through this injection of funds, the Central Bank is providing support to the productive sector to help mitigate the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A subsidiary of the Moroccan group Banque centrale populaire (BCP) issues professional cards to 26 of its authorized agents. These 26 agent agents of the insurance company can now address customers and prospects, provided with an official professional insurance agent card for the presentation and marketing of the company's products. In order to comply with the regulations of the Insurance Code in Côte d'Ivoire, this subsidiary complies with the requirements of articles 501 and 503 of the Insurance Code, which stipulate that the exercise of the profession of insurance agent is subject to the issuance of a professional card.

Ecobank Côte d'Ivoire and the State of Côte d'Ivoire, through the Ministry for the Promotion of SMEs, have signed an agreement relating to the financing of SMEs, with an envelope of 5 billion at a rate of 7% on a period of 24 months. The objective of this partnership is to work jointly with the Ministry for an exemplary cooperation in all areas, and particularly in that of the development and financial support of entrepreneurship and the promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises.

A bogus insurance broker was arrested on Tuesday, August 3 by the Economic and Financial Brigade (BEF). His identity has not been disclosed. Only the initials (E. D) are known. The forger in question has mounted the name of his brokerage structure on a broker's license which bears the signature of the Minister of Economy and Finance Romuald Wadagni. The structures that entrusted him with portfolio management mandates were certainly unaware that they were dealing with a counterfeiter.

Governance

Benin celebrated on August 1, 2021 in sobriety, the 61st anniversary of its accession to independence. In his message to the nation, the President said that the people of Benin can be proud that Benin is now able to build itself and achieve the essentials. Patrice Talon welcomed the progress made under his presidency and gave a nod to the condition of Beninese women. The President pledges to fight against all forms of discrimination based on gender. In this regard, he recalls that the reform of the National Institute for Women falls within this framework.

Financial crimes

BNP Paribas, indicted on May 11 for the laundering of “at least 35 million euros” with which the Bongo family acquired villas and mansions in France, recognized “deficiencies” but disputed everything “ fraudulent purpose", according to his interrogation before the judge. Faced with the magistrate of the financial center of the Paris court, the representative of the bank maintained that the establishment was not aware that the Bongo family "pulled the strings" of the financial circuit and was unaware that the money came from potential misappropriation of Gabonese public funds, denouncing an "intellectual construction" of the accusation.

The Cherifian kingdom is placed under surveillance for its failures in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, along with three other countries. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has finally revised its copy, but when it comes to reputational risk, it must be understood that the implications for Morocco are significant. To facilitate and make more effective the exchange of information, the Customs and Indirect Tax Administration (ADII) raises awareness. Thus, within the framework of the popularization of the new provisions in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the ADII organized a series of meetings, with the objective of strengthening actions in the field of surveillance.

Regional growth

The Regional Mortgage Refinancing Fund of UEMOA (CRRH-UEMOA) has granted a loan of 500 million CFA francs to the Cooperative d'Epargne et de Crédit des Artisans du Togo (CECA) for the promotion of affordable housing financing for low-income households in Togo. The documents were initialed by the directors general of the CRRH-UEMOA, Christian Agossa and of the CECA, Yombo Odanou. This agreement aims to help the ECSC to start financing housing loans in favor of populations with low and/or irregular incomes who are its clients.

The 6th session of the Steering Committee ( ^CoPil ) of the Program for the harmonization and modernization of surveys on household living conditions in the Member States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) was held from 02 to August 04, 2021 in Lomé. The program for the harmonization and modernization of surveys on household living conditions in the WAEMU space aims to strengthen the capacities of national statistical institutes in the conduct of large-scale surveys through the realization in each of the Member States of two series of harmonized household living conditions surveys. The project was signed in 2016 for the benefit of member states through a grant agreement between the WAEMU Commission and the World Bank.

On the sidelines of the work of the round table on "the effectiveness of public policy in the light of program budget reform and the COVID-19 pandemic", the African Center for Higher Studies in Management (CESAG) and the Center for Analysis and Capacity Building of Togo (CADERDT) entered into a strategic partnership. The objective is to develop and implement training and capacity building actions for the benefit of development actors but also to support program budget reform in the sub-region.

The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (ISSD) helps countries focus their resources on fighting the pandemic and protecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of vulnerable people. In this context, 7 WAEMU countries will benefit from a deferral of debt repayment of 51.1 million dollars, or 28.13 billion FCFA in 2021. Burkina, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau , Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo are the countries in the zone to benefit from this facility, to which all the countries in the zone are nevertheless eligible.