Author: Adama WADE

The West African giant was sentenced on 16 August by the Business and Property Courts of the United Kingdom to pay 9 billion dollars (8.1 billion euros), or 20% of its foreign exchange reserves , to Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P & ID), a company based in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands, for non-respect of contractual commitments. The facts explained by the company on its website back in 2010 when the entity signs an agreement with Nigeria to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, a coastal town near the Cameroon border. The agreement provided for…

“A historic turning point full of promise for industries on condition that we prepare for it …” The African Continental Free Trade Area (CAFTA) has entered its operational phase at the end of the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) held in Niamey (Niger) this weekend. For Louis S. AMEDE, the Director General of the National Federation of Industries and Services of Côte d’Ivoire (FNISCI), the African market offers enormous opportunities to Ivorian industry but provided they prepare well. Interview. Let’s go, the ZLECAf has entered its operational phase! Exactly! And we could consider this a historic turning…

Unlocking the Potential of Africa – Ideas by Alexander HAMILTON, Cédric Mbeng Mezui’s new book, was presented at the Palais Brongniart, Place de la Bourse in Paris, on April 05, 2019. The audience included industry professionals private, the institutional, the academics of the place of Paris and all these economists, thinkers and strategists on the lookout for new trends. The author’s bias on Alexander Hamilton’s ideas, to the detriment of those of Malthus, who are back in force when it comes to reporting the flow of migration to African demography, is daring. intellectual. The author considers that during this 21st…

Died on March 23, 2015 at the age of 91, Lee Kuan Yew was anything but a Western Democrat, a term he opposed to Asian consensus democracy. The founding father of Singapore had imposed on his fellow citizens the choice of discipline before freedom, the right to bread before the right to vote. Singaporeans could choose their grain at noon, but not their shop stewards. The triptych of this legendary leader whose diatribes have often moved London is made of discipline, authority and merit. Singapore became a thriving military barracks whose supermarkets were run by the Asian and world jet…

What is this old man on a wheelchair that young people today reject so well to Algeria. Bouteflika is this country rich but unable to transform, promising but tired, educated but undermined by unemployment, sovereignist but with elites who have, since the first gusts of revolution, acquired French, Swiss and Canadian nationalities while now their people in a forced Arabization that will have resulted in the French language, this spoils war according Kateb Yacine, a luxury product. Of the living symbol that young Africans discovered in the newspapers of the time with a certain revolutionary romanticism, there remains Bouteflika only…

Observers note a rise in strength of the agency UMOA-Securities at the expense of the bond compartment of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) that has not experienced the boom expected corporate. Emissions from the Sifca agribusiness, the CRRH mortgage refinancing fund, Cofina mesofinance and, recently, the Senegalese electricity supplier Sénelec are slow to emulate. As for the States, they prefer to fall back on the market by auctioning at low rates with short maturities. A market that has the merit of being more competitive in terms of costs and procedures. The objective of the director general of UMOA-Titles, Adrien Diouf,…

Held on March 31 in Tunis under the cover of a wheel (some emirs had not turned off the engine of their aircraft), the 30th summit of the Arab League was rich in salamalecs and hiccups of any kind. The wall of sound was passed when the old Mauritanian anthem was played instead of the new one. The Mauritanian diplomats accredited in Tunis, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the protocol of the President had to undergo this hymn of another century until the end. The presidential anger shakes more than one member of his delegation while Tunisian…

The insurance sector in Senegal is under tension. The insurance company Amsa multiplies the maneuvers not to join the Oil & Gas Risks Insurance Pool of Senegal. As a reminder, the grouping of insurance companies approved on the Senegalese market, which aims to cover oil risks according to the principle of co-insurance, is a vertical organization with SEN-RE and the International Reinsurance market. The approach, a first in the area of ​​the Interafrican Conference of Insurance Markets (CIMA *), went in the direction of building the capacity of Local Content of the private insurance sector in Senegal. President Macky SALL…

The appointment of Franco-Senegalese Sibeth Ndiaye as spokesperson for the French government was unanimously hailed by the French press. Born in Senegal in 1979, the only survivor of the close guard of President Emmanuel Macron, finds himself in one of the most symbolic roles of the republic. Such a situation would be hard to come to in Africa, a place where national codes, criteria and determinants of appointments in official positions are enclosed in explicit and implicitly biological principles. “The nationality laws of some African countries explicitly restrict the right to nationality on racial or ethnic grounds, and in other…

On March 8, 2019, S & P Global Ratings confirmed the long-term foreign currency notes “B-” and short-term foreign exchange and local currency “B” of the sovereign debt of Congo-Brazzaville. The perspective is stable. The agency estimates that the external and budgetary vulnerabilities of Congo-Brazzaville will remain important in the years to come. Good news though, S & P believes that Congo’s default risk on its single Eurobond has declined. The stable outlook reflects “our expectation of lower external and fiscal pressures over the next 12 months while taking into account persistent institutional and economic risks,” says S & P.…

If there is one topic that dominated the debates on March 14, 2019 on the first day of the Africa Development Forum, it is African integration. The question was the final loop of the intervention of Mohamed El-Kettani, CEO of Attijariwafa Bank who invited all participants to reaffirm “our belief in an integrated common space of hope and future, to protectionist temptations at work at the international level “. And the banker insisted: “Invest in our human capital, in the advancement of African women, in strengthening our infrastructure, and in implementing credible governance schemes. Let’s work on the implementation of…

The 6th edition of the Africa Development International Forum (# FIAD2019) opened on Thursday, March 14, 2019 in Casablanca with a remarkable address by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, whose country is the guest of honor. “Africa is a land of opportunity, growth and expansion with one of the highest concentrations of natural resources in the world,” says President Maada Bio at the opening of the forum “When the East meets the West “, placed firmly under the sign of continental integration. Welcoming the leadership of King Mohammed VI for the development and integration of the continent, the Sierra…

African stock markets plummet at the end of the first quarter of 2019. All studies show, the rise in interest rates of the Fed pushing large investors to fall back on mature markets at the expense of emerging markets and frontier markets. In this small atmosphere of end of the period of fat cows that blows, it must be said, for three years, well before the slogan “America First”, which constitutes the alpha and the omega of the Trump administration, it does not We must not limit the analysis to local contingencies. There is something more, in addition to the…

We are witnessing the collapse of international law under the blows of American unilateralism and the propaganda of humanitarian organizations and Western media. Admittedly, inflation reached record highs in Venezuela but not at the level announced by the main stream press. The rate of 1.3 million% brandi, a little strong coffee, reflects a reality (that of the collapse of purchasing power) increased by market propaganda. The threshold of 10 million% is soon reached, it is said? Poverty is shouting a Canadian newspaper is worried that this train, the rich do not lack toilet paper. But, let us not forget, the…

After almost ten years in the top management of the world’s largest financial companies, the Franco-Ivorian banker is expected to succeed Christine Lagarde at the head of the IMF. A virtual world revolution. The current CEO of Credit Suisse is going through a rather difficult period for not having achieved its maximum profitability targets. The action of his bank has lost 50% of its value since the arrival of Tidiane Thiam in July 2015. After gaining about 15% in the days that followed the appointment of the so-called Barack Obama at the time of finance , the share price fell…

The anti-corruption campaign currently being waged by the Angolan government is likely to suffer from the collateral effects of Mozambique’s hidden debt scandal known as “Tuna Bonds”. If we believe in the report of the intelligence firm EXX Africa, there is serious risk that the current government of Angola is caught by a crisis of the kind that has crippled Mozambique, affected by debt which reaches 112% of GDP. As a reminder, on January 25, 2019, the Parliament of Mozambique requested that the country’s former finance minister, Manuel Chang, be placed in pre-trial detention pending his extradition to the United…

When, after years of good and loyal services in the Gambia, in the hospitality sector, Mory Guéta Cissé (MGC) decided to return to his native Mauritania to, he enthused, make his contribution to the building, he did not suspect what was waiting for him. Instead of marking the ground, the State has sowed pitfalls without rational explanations. After 18 years, it’s finally, we dare to believe, the end of the tunnel. Mory Guéta Cissé, her precious sesame in hand, told Financial Afrik hot. Interview.   F.A. Our congratulations for the signing of the Decree granting you the definitive enjoyment of the…

The Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) has just taken a majority stake in Wizall, a Mobile Money player with Total Sénègal among its shareholders. This acquisition, which meets a well-defined strategy, makes Senegal the backbone of BCP’s Mobile Banking strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa. “M-Banking’s operations, including money transfer and payment activities, will be provided by our subsidiaries Wizall, a mobile money player, and ATPS, a financial services aggregator and a proximity agent network operator” said Kamal Mokdad, director general of the BCP in charge of international development, traveling to Dakar on December 4, 2018, at the head of a large delegation…

Insurer Sunu has just celebrated its 20th birthday. It was December 1, 2018 in Dakar on the sidelines of a colorful ceremony marked by the presence of delegations representing the 24 subsidiaries from the 15 African countries where the group is located. Strategic partners were also involved. The choice of Senegal for this jubilee is not trivial. It is in this country where everything started in 1999 with the takeover of CSAR-Vie, now Union of Insurance of Senegal Life (UASEN-Life), evolving today under the Sunu label like all the subsidiaries of the group. But the real starting point of this…

The provisional allocation, on October 23, of the water distribution contract in Dakar (Senegal) to Suez to the detriment of the French-Senegalese SDE (57.8% owned by the Eranove group, the rest by various local interests ) and Veolia is making waves. As soon as the decision was notified, SDE, which has been managing the leasing contract since 1996, and Veolia, a major challenger, have filed two gracious appeals. The two reserves tabled separately Friday (October 26th) with the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Mansour Faye, were rejected Wednesday, October 31 by mail bearing the signature of the said minister. A…

After more than 15 years of experience in the investment banking and financial sector in London, Lynda Aphing-Kouassi, General Manager of Kaizene, has only one ambition: to put her expertise at the service of Africa. Thus, since its return, about 4 years ago, the Ivorian financier organizes every year, through its consulting firm, an innovation forum dedicated to the promotion of better technical and financial solutions in terms of infrastructures in Africa. For this year, the Rwandan city of Kigali, a reference economic model par excellence, was chosen to host this event aimed at creating a synergy around the development…

To promote “agency banking” in rural areas, the United Nations Investment Agency (UNCDF) organizes since Thursday, October 4 in the region of Kaolack (200 km from Dakar) its third session of the year 2018, relocated to rural areas through its MM4P program. In partnership with the MasterCard Foundation, this session has seen the participation of digital financial service providers, representatives of institutions such as the BCEAO, ECOBANK, regulators and issuers of electronic money. This rural working group aims to address the issues of “Agency Banking” and enable low-income people to access the new opportunities offered by digital financial services to…

The market had anticipated it. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) finally suspended Skye Bank on Monday, September 24, 2018. This was a logical consequence of the revocation of the Bank’s license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, September 21st. Is the intervention of the regulator maintaining and the management and the board of directors of the bank late and incomplete? In any case, the bankruptcy of an entity created by the merger of 4 small banks in 2006 represents a net loss for shareholders, including small shareholders on the stock market, in solidarity with the profits and…

The Currency Exchange Fund (TCX) has contributed to the mobilization of nearly $ 200 million of offshore bonds issued in emerging currencies, particularly in Africa since the beginning of the year. The peculiarity of this fund based in the Netherlands, is to hedge the currency risk in currencies where banks do not intervene. “Apart from the South African Rand, few African currencies are likely to interest banks in terms of medium and long term,” says Othman Boukrami, head of TCX Trading in an interview with Financial Afrik. The fund operates by hedging the risk of lenders and bond issuers on…

By Adama Wade. The wave of IPOs on the BRVM side of banking entities has generated a real enthusiasm in the last few years among both institutional and individual investors. On the occasion of these IPOs, some banks have, it is true, made valuations by the method of multiples of significant equity, 2.9 to 3 times for the highest. But it is important, by analyzing more closely the performance of these securities once quoted, to make a clear distinction between the operational banking entities (BICICI, Ecobank Ivory Coast, SGBCI, Coris Bank, etc.) and the holding companies. banking groups, the…

Envol Immobilier achieved the feat of delivering, on May 2, the first ministerial city of the new city of Diamniadio, located 35 kilometers north of Dakar, capital of Senegal. With its expertise, its technical capabilities and its regional influence, the group has signed, on September 10, 2018, an important contract with the State of Côte d’Ivoire for the construction of the university campus of the city of San Pedro . To learn more about its activities and prospects, Financial Afrik went to meet Madani Maki Tall, Chairman of the Board. You just signed an important contract for the realization…

The suspense is lifted to Senegalese reinsurance. Sen Re separated from his deputy director, Adama Ndiaye, who had submitted his letter of resignation on August 16 for “personal propriety”. The Board of Directors of the Senegal Reinsurance Corporation (Sen-Re), led by Omar Sarr, took note of the resignation on Monday (September 3rd). Attempts to return Adama Ndiaye (who is also president of the African Federation of Insurance Companies) to his decision were unsuccessful. In the end, Sen Re postpones its long-awaited moult. Directed for 30 years by Moussa Diaw, 71 years old, the Senegalese company remains largely dependent on the…

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Guillaume Doane is the CEO and co-founder of Africa Oil & Power (AOP), the continent’s leading forum for energy development and discussions. This year, the third edition of Africa Oil & Power’s annual forum brings together top African leaders from the oil and energy sectors in Cape Town from September 5 to 7.

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) hasreleased its unaudited financial statements for the half-year period ended 30 June 2018, showing gross revenue of $343 million. The figure represents a $21 million increase over the gross revenue for the same period in 2017. The results, released by the Bank in Cairo today, attributed the higher gross revenue to a significant increase in fee income by 119 per cent while interest andsimilar income recorded a 2 per cent growth compared to prior year performance. The Bank’s attributable earnings over the six months also amounted to $110 million, beating the budget by 34 per…

Professor Samir Amin, director of the Third World Forum, died Sunday, August 12, 2018 in Paris at the age of 87 years. A loss for the world of economy and the progressive circles of North and South. “A Baobab fell,” writes Professor Saliou Sy of the Dakar School in tribute to the Franco-Egyptian economist who had resided in Senegal for more than 40 years. Associate Professor of Economics, Samir Amin, born in Cairo in 1931, upset the world of development economics with his huge book entitled “Unequal Development. Essay on the social formations of peripheral capitalism, Paris, Ed. “Midnight”, published…