Foreign Exchange

The dollar is falling and moving away from its recent highs against other major currencies. The euro jumped about 1 percent against the dollar to a three-week high. The yen climbed 1.41 percent to 142.11 yen per dollar. The British pound rose more than 1 percent to $1.1646, its highest level this month, and was last at $1.622. The franc regained strength against the euro in the wake of a dramatic rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB). In related news, the South African rand gained in morning trade. At 0625 GMT, the rand was trading at 17.4175 to the dollar, up 0.63% from its previous close.

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin broke the $20,000 barrier and was poised for its best day in six weeks on Friday. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, rose more than 7% to $20,796, a two-week high. Ether, the second largest, rose 5 percent to also hit a two-week high of $1,717. Bitcoin had been as low as $18,540 on Wednesday.

Money markets

Mali got FCFA 31.620 billion from a simultaneous auction of 182-day Treasury bills (BAT) and 3-year Treasury stimulus bonds (ODR). The treasury had auctioned 30 billion FCFA. The total amount of the bids is 31.620 billion FCFA. This gives a coverage rate of the amount auctioned of 105.40%. But before that, the country collected more than 200 billion CFA francs at the end of the bond issue by public call for savings "State of Mali 6.20% 2022-2032".

At the end of a simultaneous auction of 91-day Treasury bills and 5- and 7-year Treasury stimulus bonds, the country collected more than CFAF 200 billion.sor of 5 years and 7 years, the public treasury of Côte d'Ivoire has raised on September 06, 2022 on the financial market of the WAEMU a sum of 37.070 billion FCFA. According to WAMU-Securities, investors offered a total of CFAF 62.461 billion. This gives a coverage rate of 124.92% of the amount auctioned.

At the end of a simultaneous issue of 5 and 7 year Treasury stimulus bonds (ORD), Togo raised on the WAEMU financial market the sum of 33 billion FCFA. The organizer of the operation, WAMU-Securities, indicates that the global amount of the bids was established at 72.603 billion FCFA. The issuer requested 30 billion FCFA. This gives a coverage rate of the amount put up for auction of 242.01%.

The Minister of Finance of the DRC, Nicolas Kazadi announced in a communiqué dated September 1, 2022, the raising of 60 billion Congolese francs equivalent to 30 million dollars on the local financial market. The operation is scheduled for this Tuesday, September 6, at 11:00 a.m., and bids will be received at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC). According to the press release, the announcement of the auction results will be made on September 6 before 3 pm. And the repayment date is set for Thursday, March 9, 2023, at the BCC.

Stock markets

The Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) has been marked this week by an increase in transactions. Thus, at the end of the quotation session on Wednesday 7 September 2022, transactions rose sharply by 593.874 million FCFA. The total value of these transactions amounted to 805.994 million FCFA, after 723.854 million FCFA on Tuesday 6 September and 212.120 million FCFA on Monday 5 September. The market capitalization of the equity market stood at CFAF 6159.553 billion. That of the bond market rose by 1.44 billion, to 8194.556 billion FCFA. On both indices, it is the return to the embellishment after several days of contrast.

Commodities

Oil is recovering on Friday, September 9, 2022 in a context where Russian deliveries are uncertain. At around 09:45 GMT (11:45 a.m. CET), a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for delivery in November was up 1.87% to $90.82. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery was up 1.72 percent at $84.98. Both oil benchmarks had regained ground late Thursday after two days of losses.

Gold rose late in the week, supported by a weaker dollar, and was poised for small weekly gains. Spot gold was up 0.7 percent at $1,719.65 an ounce by 0407 GMT. Prices were up 0.5% for the week, after three consecutive weekly declines. U.S. gold futures were up 0.6% at $1,730.90.

Spot silver gained 1.4% to $18.8206 per ounce and was up 4.5% for the week. Platinum rose 0.4% to $882.62 and was headed for its biggest weekly gain since June. Palladium fell 1.5% to $2,106.41, but was poised for its first weekly gain in four.

In Pakistan, cotton gin arrivals fell 14% through Sept. 1, 2022, as floods devastated billions of rupees worth of produce in Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan, while the country is expected to beThe country is expected to fall short of this year's target of four million bales, requiring imports to keep the textile sector going, according to data released Saturday. In the current season, textile mills have purchased nearly 1.324 million bales of cotton so far.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have announced plans to revolutionize the cotton supply chain in the country. their intention to revolutionize the wheat value chain in Nigeria by replicating the feat achieved in the country's rice value chain. The minister stressed that Nigeria had no choice but to increase its domestic wheat production to meet the country's demand following the multiplier effects of COVID-19 and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war which have significantly affected wheat supply in the international market.

Companies

Deloitte Afrique Francophone has co-opted new partners. According to a press release, they are Saoussane Tayaa, Consulting Partner, Morocco - El Hadji Malick Gueye, Risk Advisory Partner, Senegal - Romeo Koudou, Risk Advisory Partner, Ivory Coast. Emmanuel Gadret, Managing Partner Deloitte Francophone Africa said that these co-optations are part of the ambitious development of Deloitte's activities in Francophone Africa.

The management of the Société africaine de crédit automobile (SAFCA), announced a 15% decline in the net banking income (NBI) of the financial institution based in Abidjan. SAFCA's net banking income recorded a 15% decline in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. According to company officials, the financial institution's NBI fell from CFAF 1.803 billion at June 30, 2021 to CFAF 1.527 billion at June 30, 2022, a reduction of CFAF 276 million. At the end of June 2022, SAFCA had operations with its customers of CFAF 45.102 billion compared with CFAF 45.041 billion at the end of June 2021.

Following strong earnings despite macroeconomic challenges, a total of seven companies of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) declared a sum of N167.5 billion as interim dividend for the first half (H1) ended June 30, 2022. This is an increase of 30% over the interim dividend of N128.85 billion declared in the corresponding half of 2021. The seven companies are MTN Nigeria Plc, Seplat Petroleum Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc.

On July 1, Cameroonian President Paul Biya signed a decree granting Sinosteel Cam SA, a subsidiary of China's Sinosteel, a mining permit for the Lobe iron ore deposit in Kribi. The granting of the mining title follows the signing of a mining convention between the State and the Chinese partner last May. This agreement, which has an initial duration of 10 years, provides for the annual production of 4 million tons of iron ore enriched to 60%, which will then be shipped via the port of Kribi.

Banks and Insurance

Directors of banks and other financial institutions without Guinean nationality are leaving Guinea one by one because their licenses have not been renewed. Article 17 of the law of August 2013 on banking regulations in the country stipulates that "unless expressly exempted by the Committee of approvals, no one can direct or manage a credit institution if heis not a Guinean national, unless he or she has legal or regulatory provisions granting reciprocity under an agreement signed between his or her country of origin and the Republic of Guinea". To date, three banks are involved: Banque Populaire Maroco Guinéenne (BPMG), United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Banque islamique de Guinée (BIG).

Banque Postale du Burkina (BPBF) has obtained a license from the banking authorities of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) to operate as a bank. The BPBF will be headed by Salifou Kouraogo, former general manager of the Islamic Bank of Niger. This new institution, expected since 1988, was announced by La Poste BF in 2019.

The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has signed an agreement with the Minister of Economy and Finance Adama Coulibaly to finance the project to bring operating theatres, intensive care units and other facilities up to standard.The agreement covers the financing of the project to upgrade operating theatres, neonatal resuscitation units and imaging services in reference hospitals in Côte d'Ivoire and the project on the agro-industrial pole in the north (2PAI-North). With a total cost of CFAF 37.128 billion, the first project aims to bring reference hospitals in 25 health regions up to standard and improve their technical facilities. As for the second project, particularly the one relating to the agro-industrial pole in the north, it has received financing of CFAF 30 billion.

The pan-African bank UBA is launching a campaign to raise the rate of bank penetration and combat informal savings, estimated at 80% of national savings, according to the Association of Professional Banks and Financial Institutions of Côte d'Ivoire (APBEF-CI). Called "Saving Promo", this year-end operation merges all existing savings account offers into a single promotional campaign, in order to support the banking policy implemented by the Ivorian government, which has seen an increase of 16.5% in 2021. More than 30,000 people were reached during the last "Saving Promo" campaign.

The management of Coris Bank International (CBI) S.A. has published the half-yearly activity report drawn up by the banking establishment. The net result established in Ouagadougou by Coris Bank International, has increased by 19.4% in the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of 2021. This net result was established at 27.109 billion FCFA against 22.706 billion FCFA on June 30, 2021, that is to say an increase of 4.403 billion. As for the net banking product (NBI), it has increased by 23% during the same period.

The general management of Sanlam Vie Togo is now entrusted to Constant Djeket, the general manager of NSIA Assurances and NSIA Vie Assurances Togo. This appointment follows the takeover of Sanlam Vie Togo by the NSIA group. On the market for about 3 years, the ex-Saham Assurance Vie will thus merge with Nsia, leader of this branch on the local market.

Financial crimes

Mauritius has passed the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) review and scored 40 out of 40 on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations. The virtual asset, Recommendation 15, has reached compliant status. This makes Mauritius one of the few countries to be compliant with all 40 FATF Recommendations. The 22nd Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) Council of Ministers and the 44th Working Group was favorable to Mauritius.

The social network Instagram, a subsidiary of the Meta Group, the parent company of Facebook, has been fined a record 405 million euros. The network is accused of breaches in the treatment of data of minors, according to the Irish regulator, which acts on behalf of the European Union. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) was concerned that users under 18 years of age could too easily switch to a business account. This type of account requires users to make their details public, which means that they are visible to everyone on the social network. The regulator also criticized Instagram for defaulting to open the content of the minors' accounts at certain times to all users and not restricting it to only approved subscribers.

Governance

Fitch Ratings affirmed the Nigerian Kaduna State's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default rating (IDR) at 'B' with a stable outlook. The ratings reflect Kaduna's continued significant, but declining, dependence on central government transfers for revenue despite the increase in internally generated revenue (IGR). The ratings also reflect the government's increasing debt to finance investments needed to develop basic infrastructure and social services. Kaduna's IDRs are aligned with those of the Nigerian sovereign and no other rating factors are applied to the ratings.

Regional Growth

The Economic and Social Council (ESC), in partnership with the Superior Authority for State Control and the Fight against Corruption (ASCE-LC), launched a forum on Tuesday, September 6 in Ouagadougou on the effective fight against corruption in the country. The theme of this meeting is "Fight against corruption in Burkina Faso: Mechanism for a restoration of the values of integrity and probity in administrative action".

The Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) was launched on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda. On Monday, the African Development Bank (AfDB) kicked off its activities at this 2022 edition of the AGRF by co-hosting a session on the African Emergency Food Production Facility at the Kigali Convention Center. Africa's largest agriculture conference is being held under the theme: "Grow, Feed, Reward - Bold Actions for Resilient Food Systems".

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Banking and SME Fair will take place from November 1 to 5 in Lomé. Round tables will be organized on SME financing and investment. An exhibition will be held on the sidelines of the exchanges.

According to figures published by the Banking Commission, the investment securities of companies in the UEMOA space amounted to 12,470.8 billion at the end of 2021. This represents an increase of 1,901.0 billion or 18.0% over the year compared to 24.8% in 2020, in particular in relation to the issuance by the States of "COVID-19 bonds". Financial assets are estimated at 258.5 billion at the end of 2021, down 22.6 billion (-8.0%).

On the occasion of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2022), in Bridgetown, the President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mr. KouchnerAt the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2022) in Bridgetown, the President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Oramah, revealed that the bank plans to invest $700 million in the economies of the Caricom states. The Nigerian assured that there has been tremendous progress in accelerating the membership of CARICOM nations in Afreximbank and that the signing of a participation agreement would enable Afreximbank to invest in the economies of the CARICOM countries.The Nigerian assured that there has been tremendous progress in accelerating the accession of CARICOM nations to Afreximbank and that the signing of a participation agreement would allow Afreximbank to operate in the Caricom region and to concretely realize the new vision through an agreement.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) organized on September 8-9, 2022, a regional sensitization workshop on the implementation of the new regional development policy.The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) organized on September 8 and 9, 2022, a regional sensitization workshop on the implementation of the new regional road safety policy, action plan and road safety charter of the community. With this new policy and charter, the Commission aims to intensify its work with Member States and development partners to improve road safety in the region, which is one of the main themes and key activities planned under the framework of the new policy.With this new policy and charter, the Commission aims to intensify its work with member states and development partners to improve road safety in the region, which is one of the main themes and key activities under the ECOWAS Transport Governance Technical Assistance Project, jointly funded by the Cooperation Agreement with the European Union and its ECOWAS financial counterparts.