Foreign exchange market

The euro lost 0.13% to 1.1177 dollars on Friday, close to its lowest level in more than a year and a half, reached the day before at 1.1106 dollars. The franc stabilized against the euro. Due to its role as a safe haven in the context of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Swiss currency was trading at 1.0352 francs for one euro. Against the dollar, the franc slackened on the other hand and traded at 0.9261 USD/CHF. The Russian ruble, meanwhile, stabilized (+0.09% to 84.19 rubles) but remained down more than 10% since the start of the year.

Cryptocurrencies

After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we note the fall of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin fell 7.9% to $34,324, its lowest level since Jan. 24, and traded down 4.5%. Smaller coins that typically move in tandem with bitcoin also fell, with ether losing as much as 10.8%.

Stock markets

The Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) started the week with strong transactions. And, at the end of the trading session of this Thursday, February 24, 2022, the indicators are still showing good performance. The stock market capitalization of the BRVM bond market stood at 7500.157 billion FCFA and that of the equity market recorded an increase of 1.742 billion. The BRVM 10 index gained 0.23% to 162.39 points against 162.01 points the day before. As for the BRVM composite index, it also gained 0.03% to 212.98 points against 212.92 points previously. The value of transactions is still above one billion FCFA, standing at 1.418 billion FCFA.

The Ghanaian authorities have announced the launch of a green bond exchange. The initiative presents itself as the most successful project of a program carried out in Africa by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the branch of the World Bank in charge of the private sector in developing countries. It will enable companies and governments to share the risks in financing an economy that is more respectful of the requirements of sustainable development.

Money Market

The State of Côte d'Ivoire collected the sum of 64.999 billion FCFA at the end of a simultaneous auction issue of assimilable treasury bills (BAT) of 182 days and assimilable treasury bonds (OAT) of 7 and 10 years. This operation organized on February 22, 2022 on the WAEMU financial market aims to finance the country's budget.

Niger raised an amount of 38.500 billion FCFA following an issue of 5-year Treasury Bonds (OATs) carried out on February 24, 2022 on the WAEMU financial market. The total amount put up for auction is 35 billion FCFA. In response to this solicitation, investors bid for a total amount of 114.836 billion FCFA. This gives a rate of coverage of the amount auctioned of 328.11%.

Raw materials

Oil and gas prices are soaring. After Russian troops entered Ukraine, crude rose to $99.5. The price of gas has also jumped. On Friday, the price of a barrel of oil crossed the 100 dollar mark, while the price of gas is approaching its historic high.

On the side of gold, the week ends on a slight rise. Gold appreciated (+0.27% to 1,909 dollars) without getting too close to the peak in nearly a year and a half, briefly reached the day before at 1,974.35 dollars.

The president of the Professional Group of Coffee-Cocoa Exporters of Côte d'Ivoire (Gepex), Mariame Bédié, informs that the pilot phase of the coffee-cocoa traceability system will be launched next April. As such, the census of producers has started, the first cards to be distributed to planters by the end of March.

Companies

Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup TradeDepot has acquired Ghanaian competitor Green Lion, to accelerate its growth in the country. The acquisition will allow TradeDepot to connect more neighborhood retailers to suppliers, while giving them access to financing options like loans or BNPL support.

Boosted by soaring oil prices and the strong economic recovery, Eni has had a prosperous year in 2021. The group published a net profit of 6.12 billion euros for 2021, after suffering a loss of 8.63 billion euros in 2020. The annual turnover jumped by 74% to 76.57 billion euros, more than expected by analysts. Eni returned 2.8 billion euros to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.

Tingo Inc, a Nigeria-based fintech company, is seeking $500 million to expand in Africa, in part through acquisitions of African businesses. This new financing should enable the company to mobilize nearly 100 million USD for farmers, particularly women. Then, the company announces that it will use other funds to ensure its expansion plan in twenty African countries over the next three years.

For the financing of its start-up, Earnipay, a start-up of financial technology solutions, raised 4 million USD. These resources should allow the company to help Nigerian employees collect their salaries more quickly. They should also be used to improve the financial well-being of employees by partnering with employers.

The OCP Group is launching "Factory of the Future by OCP", an Open Innovation challenge whose objective is to identify Moroccan, African and international startups capable of co-developing innovative digital solutions in connection with the Group's industrial businesses . The 4 finalist startups will benefit from access to the experimental and acceleration infrastructures of the OCP Group's Innovation ecosystem in order to launch their Proof of Concept (POC) and thus demonstrate the feasibility of their concept or idea.

The 8th edition of the International Business, SME and Partnership Fair (Promote) which started on February 19 in Yaoundé recorded more than 800 participants who exhibited their products and their know-how in various production sectors.

TotalEnergies recorded at the end of 2021, a revival of activities which resulted in a turnover of 655 million dollars in 2021 against 435 million dollars in 2020, which represents an increase of 51%. A strong increase which is explained in particular by the rise in the sale price of oil on the international market, i.e. 64.8 dollars per barrel, an increase of more than 100% compared to the previous year in the average price of Brent and the quality of the crude marketed by the said company during the period concerned.

Banks and Insurance

The World Bank (WB), through the International Development Association (IDA) has announced its support, to the tune of 538 million dollars, for the Cameroon-Chad transport corridor project. The financing combines investments in rail and road infrastructure, with trade facilitation interventions to improve the movement of people, goods and services along the multimodal corridor linking Cameroon's economic metropolis, Douala to the capital Chadian, N'Djamena.

The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) receives an inaugural rating of Aa2 from Moody's Investors Service (“Moody's”) with a positive outlook reflecting the bank's particular strengths. Moody's rating reflects the extraordinary progress made in the bank's conservative transformation process by the Board of Governors, Board of Directors and Senior Management since the strategic decision to begin non-sovereign lending was made. Furthermore, Sidi Ould Tah, the managing director of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, took advantage of his recent visit to Brazzaville to announce an investment of 50 million dollars for Congo. This support is part of the establishment of the Maloukou Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

The Board of Directors of the AfDB Group has approved a financing facility for the Desert to Power project, covering Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Desert to Power aims to make the Sahel the largest solar production area in the world with 10,000 MW of energy capacity. In addition, in collaboration with Africa50, the pan-African bank launched, on the sidelines of the EU-AU summit, an alliance to finance sustainable construction projects. The objective pursued is to raise 500 million dollars. The resources invested will support green and sustainable infrastructure projects with the aim of supporting the continent's transition to net zero carbon.

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) indicated in its latest analysis note that the nominal effective exchange rate of the CFA franc is expected to show a downward trend against the US dollar in the first quarter of 2022. The depreciation of the sub-regional currency in relation to the currencies of the main partners and suppliers is attributable to the fall in the euro which is the anchor currency of the zone in relation to the main currencies, in particular vis-à-vis the euro. vis the American currency.

The First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) group receives $100 million from the British CDC Group. This financing will enable the Bank to provide financial solutions, the objective of which is to meet the challenge of limited access to capital faced by underbanked and underserved actors in the country.

US bank Citigroup is aiming to jump into the markets with a caveat to focus on making the Citi network available to existing customers in multiple countries. In this perspective, the company intends to launch its commercial banking services in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt due to the presence of large multinationals in these countries.

In collaboration with the Federal Consumers Union of Côte d'Ivoire (UFC CI), insurance mediation met the population of Dabou at the town hall, to raise their awareness of the structure's services. The meditation of the insurance, born from the will of associations of the insurance companies, has for first mission to facilitate the installation of amicable solutions between insurers and the consumers, the users of the insurance companies who have files outstanding in the said companies.

Financial crimes

The second Swiss banking group is accused of having hosted funds of criminal origin. He was questioned by an investigation carried out by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which brings together 47 media, including Le Monde. He is accused of having hosted, for decades, illicit or criminal funds, on the basis of a data leak relating to 18,000 bank accounts. Credit Suisse has firmly rejected these accusations.

Since Tuesday, February 22, former dignitaries of the Alpha Condé regime have been heard by investigating judges from the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offenses (CRIEF), a special court set up by the junta to fight against economic crimes and financial in Guinea. The director of the Road Maintenance Fund Souleymane Traoré was charged on Wednesday February 23 and taken to the Conakry Central House for "embezzlement of public funds".

The National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced that Nigeria's anti-drug police have dismantled a counterfeit money smuggling operation. More than $4.7 million in counterfeit currency was seized as a result of this operation. The intercepted money was seized while in transit between Lagos, Nigeria's main economic hub, and Abuja. The NDLEA ordered that the money and the suspect be transferred to an anti-corruption agency for further investigation.

With its very first vertical analysis of the risks associated with the different types of legal persons and legal structures, the Luxembourg government completes its list of tools in the fight against money laundering. The country has finalized its first-ever vertical assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks in relation to legal persons and legal arrangements. A tool that should help local financial services professionals to refine their anti-money laundering risk matrices, if this has not already been done.

About forty investigative journalists from the West African region participated in a regional workshop on investigative journalism on economic and financial crimes. Organized in hybrid mode by the Intergovernmental Group for Action against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), this training is part of the capacity building of journalists in investigations related to economic and financial crimes. .

Regional growth

Forty African heads of state and government and twenty-seven European leaders gathered in Brussels for the 6th EU-AU summit. For two days, participants attended several thematic round tables to develop a series of concrete projects in all areas. Europeans and Africans addressed issues on migration, education, health, governance and sustainable development, before the adoption of a joint declaration. The IMF estimates that the continent will need more than 221 billion euros over the next three years to cushion the shock of the pandemic. And the EU promises 150 billion euros, a still indicative sum which will include public and private investments.

After the expulsion of his predecessor, the new ambassador of the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) to Mali, Màrio Gomez Fernandez was received this week by Abdoulaye Diop, the head of Malian diplomacy in Bamako for a "contact". . According to the press release from the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cape Verdean diplomat "expressed his personal determination and reaffirmed the commitment of his organization to continue its support for Mali and its accompaniment for a way out of the crisis through dialogue".

French Customs reveals that exports from France to the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) amount to 3.4 billion euros in 2021. French products purchased by UEMOA in 2021 represent 35 % of flows from France to sub-Saharan Africa, up 10.8% compared to 2020.

National and international players in the agricultural world meet from February 26 to March 6, 2022 for the 58th edition of the Paris International Agricultural Show (SIA). The event is placed under the theme “Agriculture: Our daily life, your future!”.