Author: Adama WADE

Phew of relief for the insurance companies of the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets. The passage of the minimum capital from 3 to 5 billion FCFA, second stage of regulation 007 / CIMA / PCMA / CE / 2016 of April 8, 2016 relating to the share capital of insurance companies, has just been postponed. For non-life insurance companies, the postponement is three years, until December 31, 2024, according to the decision taken by the council of ministers of the zone meeting on December 31 in Bissau. For life insurance companies, the capital increase to 5 billion FCFA has been…

Benin completes Africa’s first international bond transaction of the year, with the issuance of one billion euros in two tranches with final maturities of 11 years and 31 years.

Global Credit Rating Company Limited (GCR Ratings) is very pleased to announce the acquisition of a 65% shareholding in West Africa Rating Agency S.A. (WARA), a Senegal domiciled and Francophone Africa focused Credit Rating Agency (CRA). The acquisition supports GCR’s strategic objective to continue to develop its Pan-African reach as Africa’s leading CRA. WARA is an independent CRA registered with the Financial Markets Authority of the West African Monetary Union (AMF-UMOA). It has been in operation since 2012 and provides credit rating services across the Francophone Africa region, and across the full spectrum of sectors. The acquisition of WARA provides…

Between Morocco and Gabon, traveling in Covid-19 weather is ruining yourself. The kingdom imposes a double PCR test (less than 72 hours) and serological (this one being finally abandoned) at a cost of 800 dirhams (80 euros), or half of the Moroccan minimum wage. Once in Libreville, rebelote: Gabon is having all passengers tested. While this test is free on arrival, on departure it costs 80,000 FCFA, or 122 euros. The lack of protocol between African countries means that the price of the test, 100,000 FCFA (152 euros) in Benin, 40,000 FCFA (61 euros) in Senegal), 30 dollars in the…

At the end of a trying 2020, Africa is experiencing its first recession in 25 years. But, beyond the economic and social shock, the continent rather embodies resilience in the face of the pessimisms of old schools of thought, the cold forecasts of the WHO and the early diagnosis of those who still felt, at the start of the pandemic, than the death toll was inversely proportional to the number of beds fitted with life support. The year 2020 therefore sends us back to humility and … humanity in its most fragile and precious: health. In any case, post-pandemic economic…

Amadou Toumani Touré has just bowed out at 72, in Istanbul, on the banks of the Bosphorus. The former Malian president had undergone heart surgery in Bamako before being evacuated to Turkey. A native of Mopti, this soldier revealed himself to the Malian nation and to Africa as a whole in March 1991 by overthrowing President Moussa Traoré, who died two months ago following a popular uprising. At the head of the Transition Committee for the Salvation of the People, ATT organized the sovereign national conference, from July 29 to August 12, 1991, followed by legislative and presidential elections in…

Development Partners International (DPI) today announced the co-optation of three new partners, a strong signal for the firm’s commitment to supporting Africa’s development. Former Standard Bank executive and former official of the International Financial Corporation (IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank), the Senegalese Babacar Ka, who has been working for DPI for 9 years, with four major transactions to his credit (Banque Atlantique – ABI, KMR Group, private university of Marrakech among others) has been appointed responsible for West Africa, crowning a faultless course. Likewise, Zimbabwe native Takudzwa Mutasa, formerly Citigroup and then Helios Investment Partners, with 11 years…

This was the highlight of the trading day of November 5, 2020. The Abidjan Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM) recorded an unprecedented rush on Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire, which ended up 7. 39% at 3,125 FCFA. The mysterious institution bought more than 1 million securities (exactly 1,000,108 shares) for an amount of 2.8 billion FCFA, thus concentrating 98% of market transactions. This large transaction, rather rare on a single security, is the talk of the market. Admittedly, after having experienced a mixed second quarter, Ecobank CI was more convincing in the third quarter with higher results. Enough to whet the appetite of…

The Senegalese Priority Investment Guarantee Fund (FONGIP) is seeing a major change with the succession of Thérèse Faye Diouf as general administrator replacing Doudou Kâ, appointed head of the Dakar airports company (AIBD.Sa ). Holder of a Master II in sociology, Ms. Diouf replaces a Ponts et Chaussés Engineer, specialists in project financing in a structure intended to provide guarantees to priority projects. The Fund’s board will be chaired by Oumar Ndoye, teacher researcher.

With Zambia likely, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 120%, to default on its Eurobond by the end of the current year, speculation is rife on the debt of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, reports Citi Research, a division of Citigroup Global Markets. According to the report dated November 2, 2020, the public debt of the countries of the region fell from 50.4% of GDP in 2019 to 56.6% in 2020. The ratio would even climb to 60.4% excluding Nigeria and South Africa, the two leading economies in the region, which together account for 50% of its GDP. Some 6 countries have…

At the new West and Central Africa Region of the World Bank, do all the appointments really revolve around cases of alleged corruption in the DRC, including those that relate to train accidents in the former Katanga province that left many dead in April and May 2014?  It should be reminded  that the World Bank has never denied allegations contained in the Financial Afrik article of  April 2018 that narrated these cases, including the alleged roles and actual positions of whose involved at the World Bank. Is this because the World Bank, a central device of the international development institutions…

Fitch Ratings – Hong Kong – 30 Sep 2020: Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDR at ‘B’. The revision of the Outlook reflects a decrease in the level of uncertainty surrounding the impact of the global pandemic shock on the Nigerian economy. Oil prices have stabilised, global funding conditions have eased and domestic restrictions on movement have started to be relaxed. Nigeria has navigated external liquidity pressures from the shock through partial exchange rate adjustment combined with de facto capital flow management measures and…

The report of the panel of independent experts finally fell on Monday, July 27, clears President Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank (AfDB) of the 16 allegations made by whistleblowers while recalling that “the absence of proof is not proof of absence ”, further calling for a distinction to be made between an alleged institutional failure of the Bank and the conduct of the President. Out of the 16 launchers’ allegations against President Akinwumi Adesina, here are the conclusions of the team of three experts led by former Irish President Mary Robinson, along with Judge Hassan Jallow of The…

Arash Azarmi is an economics and business expert working for Volant Media UK who own London-based Persian news channel, Iran International. From his education at Tehran Business School and the Institute for Management and Planning Studies, where he acquired both an MBA and MSc, alongside his career as an economic analyst which spans over 17 years, Arash is well versed on all issues relating to the global economy with a focus on Iran. His economic expertise has been included on a wide range of TV and Radio channels, including BBC Persian, Iran International and Radio Farda, as well as having…

Reacting to the so-called “16 allegations of whistleblowers” crisis which has paralyzed the African Development Bank for several weeks, five former vice-presidents published on Sunday, June 21, a letter calling for a “consensus”. Signatories of the open letter, Mauritanian Ousmane Kane, Chadian Bedoumra Kordje, Malian Birama Sidibé, Zimbabwean Sakala Zondo and South African Mandla Gantsho, express concern over the crisis between AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, and certain shareholders calling for an independent investigation. Noting that 11 former African heads of state had called for caution and respect for the rules of the institution in a joint declaration of May 29,…

Dossongui Koné, boss of Atlantic Finance and Simon Tiemtoré, CEO of Vista bank in a tight duel for the takeover of the 3 BNP Paribas subsidiaries in Mali, Guinea Conakry and Burkina Faso. The process of selling BNP Paribas subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea Conakry * has taken a political turn. BNP Paribas’ investment bank, which has been playing chiaroscuro from the start, did not wish to give exclusivity, leaving the two finalists on the file, namely the Ivorian businessman Dossongui Koné, and the American-Burkinabé, Simon Tiemtoré, compete in the anterooms of the African presidential palaces. And, in…

The Annual Market Forum of the Federation of African National Insurance Companies (FANAF) has just been held in Yaoundé. From 5 to 7 November 2019, only one central theme was on the agenda: “review of the CIMA treaty after 25 years of implementation”. The participants, while welcoming the inclusive model of the unique Interafrican Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA), made pressing demands, as reported in the final resolutions of the conference. This is the case for the harmonization of normative policies between the CIMA treaty (which concerns 14 countries) and the Organization for Harmonization in Africa of Business Law (OHADA,…

In this exclusive interview with the monthly Financial Afrik (number 63), Alexandre Benalla, the former chargé de mission at the Elysée, deputy chief of staff of the President of the Republic, talks about his career, his new relationship with Emmanuel Macron and its investment projects in Africa. Far from the incidents of May 2018 that propelled him to the front page of the French media, the man, unparalleled analyst of the security issues of the world, at the antipodes of the image of the “Arab service to big arms” that it was decked out, opened a new page, that of…

The increase in recent years in the insured value of physical, petrochemical and airport facilities reflects the stakes of the security market in Africa. The general trend is towards the diversification of actors covering both surveillance, guarding, transfer of funds, industrial activities and cyber security. In Morocco, Brink’s Maroc, a subsidiary of Brink’s France, itself a subsidiary of the American group Brink Inc, translates the private security scheme in the Maghreb. The actors belong to large international brands. Brinks Morocco shares the market with security and security company Group 4 Securicor (G4S), the world leader in security. In sub-Saharan Africa,…

The African continent is the last economic frontier where inflation reigns without debate. Central banks in Morocco, Algeria, the CFA zone, Nigeria, Kenya and other currency areas are trying to keep this ratio within the bounds of usage and theory. However, apart from the orthodoxy of the monetary policy committees of African central bankers, the assumption of low inflation as a sign of good economic health no longer seems to be unanimous. Thus, dissenting voices call on central banks to put the cursor, not on inflation (intermediate parameter) but rather on full employment and guarantee universal employment. The idea is…

The Interafrican Institute of Training in Insurance and Business Management (IFAGE) starts the academic year with an inaugural conference, October 25, 2019, dedicated to the actuary, “this risk manager unknown to the general public” as the Mandaw Kanji, president of IFAGE, pointed out at once, planting the scenery of a continent still in catch-up. “Africa has collected $ 68 billion in premiums in 2018, only 1.31% of global premiums. Moreover, says the former controller, “70% of this volume is achieved in South Africa, leader of the continent ahead of Morocco (6%) and Kenya (3%)”. For its part, the Interafrican Insurance…

One year after  the integration of Saham Finances in the scope of Sanlam, the time is for major managerial changes. Thus, Nadia Fettah, who managed Saham Finance (26 countries, 65 subsidiaries) from Casablanca (Morocco), is now under the tutelage of Heinie Werth. Until then CFO of Sanlam (CFO), Heinie Werth, who has 15 years of experience within the group, is named CEO of Sanlam Pan Africa (SPA), new name (since February 28, 2019) of the now ex Sanlam Emerging Markets. Mr. Werth will report directly to Ian Maxwell Kirk, Sanlam Group CEO, and will be responsible for developing the…

In the wake of the cabinet reshuffle on 5 September 2019 in Côte d’Ivoire, things are becoming clearer about the position of the first economy of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (40% of GDP and 50% of the money supply). in circulation) vis-à-vis the African Development Bank which is moving towards elective general meetings in May 2020. Thus, Adama Koné, previously Minister of the Economy of Finance, was appointed Minister to the President of the Republic in charge of Economic and Financial Affairs to represent Côte d’Ivoire, as administrator, to the African Development Bank (AfDB), to “support Nigeria…

Managing Director of Continental Ré Ivory Coast since 2014, Ibrahima Ndoye has resigned. The information revealed by Atlas Magazine has been confirmed to Financial Afrik by the interested party itself. “I actually announced my resignation on August 27,” says Ibrahima Ndoye, arguing “personal reasons.” At Continental Ré, it’s mouth and motus sewn. Contacted, a member of management confirms an “email” dated August 27 and indicating a letter of resignation submitted today at the discretion of the Board of Directors. It should be noted that the Abidjan office is also relegated to the rank of a single subsidiary since in favor…

Make no mistake. Behind the African hunt, which has become a seasonal sport in South Africa, Mandela’s legacy is being burned. Ubuntu is for the postcard. The reality is quite different, as the thousands of businessmen who attended the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, a city of jet-setters and privileged people on the waterfront, in the middle of a Ocean of misery where life is not worth a smartphone. The slogan of “Rainbow Country”, this Rainbow Nation that was to erect on the rubble of apartheid, rings hollow today in the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria where extreme poverty…

Japan and the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) on Friday announced a joint target of $3.5 billion under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative (EPSA4), during the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7).

Both Japan and the Bank have set a target of $1.75 billion each, from 2020-2022, to enhance the fourth phase of EPSA to spur private-sector-led sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa.

“Building on the successful achievements so far, Japan and the Bank have decided to upgrade EPSA in both quality and quantity to meet financial needs for infrastructure development as well as for the private…

Faced with information on a supposed record high debt ratio, the financial authorities of Mauritania have stepped up to the plate. On the sidelines of a joint press briefing on Monday, August 26, 2019, the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Lemine Ould Dhehby and the governor of the Central Bank of Mauritania, Abdel Aziz Ould Dahi, have rejected as a whole what they describe as “unfounded” information about the country’s macroeconomic situation. To counter fake news, the WB announces the establishment of a communication unit to respond to requests for information from the press. At the root of the recent…

Nigeria denied on Friday, August 23, the closure of its border with Benin, closed however since August 20 by official statement. The interruption noted by the media on all crossing points including that of Sèmè-Kraké, main gateway where most of the traffic and trade between the two countries passes, could be explained by a joint exercise. to counter transnational crime, “said Joseph Attah, spokesman for the Nigerian Customs Service (Ncs). “The country’s security agencies have come together to forge links and deploy a joint response strategy to fight insecurity in the area,” he told reporters. As a reminder, Abuja announced…

Five African countries are invited to the G7 which opens this 24th of August in Biarritz against the backdrop of the fires of the Amazon rainforest and the critics of Emmanuel Macron accusing the Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro of having “lied” about his commitments in favor of climate. Observers will watch for the unpredictable answers of US President Donald Trump, who is quick to support his Brazilian ally, of which he is the model. The fires of the forest of the Amazon, 2. 500 fires in the last 48 hours according to the National Institute of Space Research of Brazil (INPE),…

It’s the prestigious Financial Time that reveals it. The British newspaper, voice of the English establishment despite its takeover by the Japanese Nikkei, estimated on August 13, 2019 that Rwanda’s figures on poverty are “probably” manipulated. Official statistics from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda showed a 6% drop in poverty between 2011 and 2014. A report by the African Development Bank (ADB) entitled Intregated Household Living Conditions dating from 2015 goes in the same direction. This, while since 2015, the Oxford Policy Management Institute (OPM), mentioned in several development reports on Rwanda, has disassociated itself from the official…