Cameroonian dollar bonds dropped for a third consecutive day as speculation about the health of the nation’s president raised concerns about a potential succession battle.

The country’s debt ranked among the worst performers Wednesday in an index tracking frontier and emerging market sovereign bonds. President Paul Biya has been absent from public view since early September, though the government said the 91-year-old leader was healthy.

Source: Bloomberg

On October 2, Cameroon successfully issued CFA10 billion in treasury bonds on the Beac public securities market. The results of this loan have not yet been disclosed.

This issuance coincided with a scheduled repayment of CFA12 billion from the Cameroonian treasury, which was due on the same day. This repayment relates to a loan taken out 26 weeks earlier. This suggests that, as is customary, the Cameroonian government sought to secure the repayment by obtaining a new loan.

This practice has become common in the sub-regional public securities market, allowing Cameroon to avoid dipping into its cash reserves to meet obligations to BEAC market investors.

It is worth noting that since the launch of the BEAC public securities market in 2011, the Cameroonian treasury has never recorded a single payment default. This track record makes Cameroon one of the most creditworthy countries in the market for the past 13 years.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Last year, CFA1,665.4 billion was recorded as suspicious financial flows in Cameroon. This figure represents an increase of 180% compared to the previous year, according to a report by the Anti-Graft Commission (Conac), which cited statistics from the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF). The result comes from analyzing 965 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) submitted to ANIF by banks, microfinance institutions, mobile money operators, money transfer companies, lawyers, notaries, and other public agencies.

The document found that “various fraud cases” were the most common, nearly tripling between 2022 and 2023. These cases represented over half (50.6%) of the reports made in 2023. The detected activities included tax fraud (60% of cases), customs fraud (40%), land transaction fraud (7%), and credit card fraud (5%). Common methods involved the illegal transfer of funds abroad using misused credit cards, hiding business revenues in third-party bank accounts, and illegal business operations by some economic actors. In addition to the relevant courts, information about tax and customs fraud has been shared with the General Tax Directorate (DGI) and the General Directorate of Customs (DGD).

The report emphasized that after “various frauds,” cases related to terrorism financing rose by 38% compared to 2022. These cases ranked second in terms of reports and accounted for 31.54% of submissions in 2023, totaling 141 cases. This rise may be attributed to security concerns, including the presence of Boko Haram in northern Cameroon and the activities of separatist movements in the Northwest and Southwest regions. Identified funding mechanisms involved internet scams, using fake identities to receive funds from abroad, as well as transfers through mobile money and money transfer companies.

Also, while the number of cases related to public fund embezzlement rose by 140% between 2022 and 2023, Conac noted that these cases represent only 2.68% of the reports submitted by ANIF to the authorities. However, they accounted for 4.3% (over CFA71 billion) of the total suspicious financial flows recorded by ANIF this year, compared to 94.7% (approximately CFA1,577 billion) for “various frauds.” Activities linked to terrorism financing accounted for only 0.14% of the suspicious financial flows reported, totaling around CFA2.3 billion.

Source: Business in Cameroon

CAMTEL is facing intentional vandalism targeting its optical fiber, disrupting internet services across Cameroon since September 20.

Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL), the country’s leading telecommunications provider, has reported a significant deterioration in Internet service following a rise in acts of vandalism targeting its optical fiber infrastructure. Since September 20, the company has faced an upsurge in deliberate attacks that have severely impacted its ability to maintain reliable electronic communications across Cameroon.

CAMTEL’s management believes that these incidents are intentional and aim to undermine the company’s reputation and its capacity to deliver high-quality Internet services.

As the backbone of Cameroon’s digital connectivity, CAMTEL’s optical fiber network plays a critical role in ensuring seamless communication, making the recent disruptions particularly concerning for businesses and individuals who rely on stable online access.

“Our teams on the ground are working tirelessly to restore connection as soon as possible.

CAMTEL apologises for the inconvenience caused by the deterioration of service due to these incidents and remains committed to providing its partners with quality Internet service” Camtel said in a statement.

Source: Techafricanews

Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, met with South Africa’s High Commissioner, Mandla Langa, to discuss revitalizing the joint commission between the two nations. This body, crucial for monitoring and evaluating the Cameroon-South Africa trade agreement, last convened in 2018, its activities disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Signed in September 2006, the trade agreement led to the creation of an interministerial committee overseen by the Minister of Trade, serving as a platform to discuss priority sectors for cooperation and trade exchanges between the two countries. During the meeting, the South African diplomat expressed his commitment to personally facilitate the resumption of the commission’s vital work.

Beyond trade, Cameroon and South Africa’s relationship includes agreements on air transport, double taxation avoidance, and various political and economic initiatives. On July 24, 2024, President Paul Biya ratified a bilateral agreement to enhance air operations and trade exchanges, a deal initially signed in Cape Town in 2011. Economically, South African companies have a strong presence in Cameroon, MTN being one of them.

In 2023, South Africa solidified its position as Cameroon’s second-largest African trading partner, exporting 143.8 tons of goods worth 47.9 billion CFA franc, representing 1.6% of Cameroon’s imports, according to the National Institute of Statistics. Cameroon’s exports to South Africa also increased, reaching 46 billion CFA francs in 2023, up from 44.5 billion CFA francs the previous year.

Minister Mbarga Atangana praised the “excellence and diversity” of relations between Yaoundé and Pretoria, reaffirming President Paul Biya’s commitment to attracting more South African investors. He highlighted Cameroon’s favorable business environment and the opportunities available to foreign investors.

Source: Sbbc

Amid growing criticism from competitors like MTN Cameroon over the quality of its internet services, state-owned telecommunications company Camtel, which holds exclusive rights to distribute fiber-optic connections, has continued to defend its infrastructure. On Camtel Actu on Saturday, September 21, Camtel’s Director General, Judith Yah Sunday, stated, “Not only do we have the capabilities, but we also have redundancy.” She explained, “This means that if the underground cable is cut, we have the Eneo cable (the electric utility, Ed.) on the high-voltage lines to ensure service continuity.”

According to the director, “Even if our cable is cut, communications are automatically switched to Eneo’s high-voltage cable, and everything continues to function without anyone noticing.” Nevertheless, Camtel’s internet services are frequently disrupted, frustrating consumers and annoying competitors, many of whom rely on Camtel as their service provider. Camtel, which claims to be the guarantor of Cameroon’s “digital sovereignty,” often blames these network disruptions on roadworks that damage the underground cable.

To highlight the reliability of its infrastructure as the “only operator capable of providing capacity to all other operators,” Yah Sunday emphasized that Camtel operates a national terrestrial backbone that connects all ten regions, along with four submarine cables linking Cameroon to the rest of the world. As a result, she added, “Even in the extraordinary event of a cable being cut between Yaoundé and Douala, we have a redundant path through Bafoussam via the Douala-Bafoussam-Yaoundé axis.“

This marks Camtel’s second public response in a week to criticisms over the quality of internet services provided by the country’s historical telecommunications operator. In a statement on September 18, published in the government daily Cameroon Tribune, Yah Sunday accused competitors of contributing to poor network performance “due to their large subscriber base and insufficient measures taken to manage their traffic efficiently.“

Source: Sbbc

Cameroon will host a trade mission from September 19 to 23, 2024, featuring members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Handicrafts (Ccima) issued a notice inviting local businesses to take part in this event, which will be held in Yaoundé and Douala.

The delegation will meet with government officials, including Prime Minister Joseph Dion Nguté. Business-to-business (B2B) meetings, a roundtable discussion, and a business dinner are also planned. These events will provide Indian, Commonwealth, and Cameroonian businesses with the chance to explore collaboration opportunities.

This trade mission includes leaders from about 20 companies. These firms operate in various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, defense, manufacturing, banking, solar energy, automotive, construction, and telecommunications. Cameroonian businesses could benefit from India’s experience, as India is a long-standing trading partner.

In 2023, this Asian nation ranked as Cameroon’s third-largest customer, accounting for 9.6% of the market share. India was also the second-largest supplier, following China, with 11.6% of the market. Cameroon primarily exports mining products to India, including liquefied natural gas (49.9%) and crude oil (48.4%). Imports from India include diesel (33.1%), semi-milled or polished rice (18.6%), aviation fuel (9.3%), medicines (6.1%), and frozen fish (2.8%).

However, the trade balance in 2023 showed a deficit of CFA254 billion, unfavorable to Cameroon.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Businesses in Cameroon increased their investments by 19% in 2023, according to a report released on September 10 by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). However, despite this rise, the deterioration of production equipment continues, increasing from 59.6% in 2022 to 60.1% in 2023, the document noted.

This means that even though companies put more money into their operations in 2023, —up from a 13% increase in 2022—most of the equipment used for production is still in bad shape. This ongoing issue, often due to maintenance problems, usually leads to lower productivity and various economic problems like decreased sales, shortages, and temporary job losses.

On a positive note, 2023 saw the highest level of investment spending since the recovery began in 2021, following a slowdown between 2018 and 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in 2020, caused major disruptions globally due to lockdowns.

Bank Loans Driving Investment

The rise in investment was mainly driven by businesses in two key sectors. The INS report highlights that investments in the primary sector (up by 86.9%) and the secondary sector (up by 36.9%) were particularly strong. This trend is also reflected in a foreign trade report released on May 4, 2024, which shows a 26% increase in spending on imported equipment and machinery in 2023 compared to the previous year.

“Mechanical and electrical equipment are essential for the country’s economic growth. Imports of these items made up 13.2% of all import spending in 2023, totaling CFA656 billion, which is a 26.5% increase from 2022. This demonstrates Cameroon’s commitment to improving its technological capabilities,” the report noted.

Furthermore, this surge in investment came alongside an increase in medium- and long-term bank loans, which are better suited for funding infrastructure and production projects. According to the 2023 activity report from the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), medium-term loans in Cameroon grew by 4.9% from 2022 to 2023, while long-term loans saw a significant 48.2% increase during the same period.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The Central Bank of Central African States (BEAC) announced yesterday a new liquidity injection for banks, amounting to CFA200 billion. This comes just a week after a similar operation for CFA250 billion, which saw a subscription rate of almost 170%. Banks had expressed a total demand of CFA423 billion.

After gradually increasing the weekly liquidity offer from CFA50 billion in June 2024, when liquidity injections into the banking sector resumed, to CFA250 billion in August 2024 BEAC has now reduced its offer. However, recent refinancing operations show that banks in the CEMAC region are in significant need of liquidity. In recent months, demand has consistently exceeded supply.

This cautious approach by the central bank is aimed at balancing the fight against inflation with the need for economic growth. BEAC continues to tighten its refinancing policy to curb inflation, despite signs that inflation has eased in the CEMAC region over the past few months. BEAC notes that economic growth, which depends on financing the economy, is projected at 3.6% in 2024 the highest level in a decade.

Source: Business in Cameroon

In 2023, Cameroon exported 1,648.3 tons of coffee to France, earning CFA2.3 billion, according to a report by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The report highlights that only robusta coffee, one of the two main types produced in Cameroon, was sold to France in that year.

The INS report shows a significant increase in the value of Cameroon’s coffee exports to France between 2021 and 2023. Over these three years, the value has quadrupled, likely due to a rise in global coffee prices and the increased volume of coffee shipped.

In 2021, Cameroon exported just 604.4 tons of robusta coffee to France, generating nearly CFA580 million. By the following year, the shipments had grown to 1,264.4 tons, bringing in CFA1.6 billion in export revenue.

The growing interest of French consumers in Cameroonian coffee has boosted its position among the top 10 products exported from Cameroon to France, ranking just ahead of bananas and just behind cocoa derivatives like butter, oil, and paste.

Source: Business in Cameroon