Announced in recent months by the government, the privatization process of the Togolese Banking Union (UTB) and the Togolese Bank of Commerce and Industry (BTCI) has not yet come to an end. Met Monday, March 4 by our editorial office in Lome on the sidelines of the launch of the National Development Plan (PND), the Minister of Finance, Sani Yaya, says what it is to date.
“With the International Monetary Fund (IMF), we agreed to accelerate the privatization of the BTCI and give a little more time in the privatization of the UTB,” he says. “We have offers that are being reviewed. There is a committee that has been put in place to support us in the BTCI negotiation, “said Minister Yaya.
Concerning the UTB, he continues, “we are in the process of developing the terms of reference that we have practically finalized for the recruitment of two firms”. The first will be responsible for helping “the bank to make its financial projections and its new business plan, and evaluate the bank until 31 December 2018”. The second will be recruited “to support the state in this tender and negotiation. We have not yet launched the call for tenders for the recruitment of these two firms “.
54 billion CFA francs
Remember that it is the third quarter of 2018 that the government has changed its tune. The option envisaged almost five years ago was that of the merger of the two structures that remain in the hands of the State, after the sale of the Togolese Development Bank (BTD) and the BIA-Togo.
“We suspended the merger process because the cost of this merger was quite high, for just over 54 billion FCFA. For the state budget, it was quite high, but at the same time, what was not said is that we should privatize within a year, in discussions that are ongoing with our partners, “says the minister. And to conclude: “we therefore preferred to sell as is immediately because the market seems to us quite open and buoyant. There are some expressions of interest that we feel.
