In a memo, addressed to the staff of the Banque de l'Habitat de Côte d'Ivoire (BHCI), this Thursday, November 21, 2019, Abdoulaye Gbané, Acting Director General recalled the government's press release on the conflict which opposes the Canadian company Westbridge Mortgage Reit.

"This press release reports the decision of the Government, by mutual agreement with the buyer, the company Westbridge Mortgage Reit, to cancel the operation of sale of the shares of the State of Côte d'Ivoire, and to resume hand, the control of the Bank following the conclusions of the work of the Banking Commission and the Statutory Auditors on the one hand and in the face of the persistent difficulties experienced by the depositors and partners of the establishment in the accomplishment of certain current operations of somewhere else,” he wrote.

Based on this decision of the Government, Abdoulaye Gbané took the following precautionary measures:

1. Access to all Bank premises is now prohibited for all Westbridge shareholders;
2. Electronic access to the BHCI platform is now prohibited for Westbridge and its directors;
3. The publication of information of any kind on all BHCI communication channels is prohibited by Westbridge and its directors;
4. All BHCI personnel are prohibited from responding to an instruction from Westbridge and its officers;
5. || any agent is prohibited from disclosing information (newspapers, social networks) that could damage the image of the bank or go against the decision of the Ivorian Government;
6. Any agent is prohibited from communicating information of any kind to Westbridge or its officers;
7. The distribution of messages to all staff is exclusively reserved for the first managers of the Departments.
8. The IT Department is invited to produce on a daily basis and on behalf of the Internal Audit and Inspection Department, the list of people who have extracted or who have attempted to extract information from the database. Bank data;
9. Any agent wishing to access the Bank's premises outside working hours must inform his superiors and fill in the attendance register available from the security guards.

Also, hereby, we remind you that it is strictly forbidden to convey non-professional messages on said messaging system.

However, messages of an alert, emergency or wide-spread social nature (computer viruses, prohibited drugs or foods and drinks, social danger) may be disseminated by the first person in charge of the Department. »

If the Ivorian economy remains dynamic and open to foreign direct investment, this situation of confusion in the procedure for the transfer of shares of the Ivorian State, from the BHCI to the Canadian company, would not leave ink indelible on the business environment?