Foreign exchange market

The euro is currently signing a weekly increase not seen since the start of the pandemic after the change of message from the European Central Bank (ECB) on inflation. Around 10:00 GMT (11:00 CET), the euro took 0.22% to 1.1465 dollars for one euro. Seven days earlier, the euro had fallen to its lowest since June 2020, at $1.1132, before gaining 2.8% over the week, a performance not seen since March 2020.

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency market giant Binance has restricted the personal accounts of 281 Nigerian users. He invokes the need to comply with international laws on money laundering. Binance Managing Director, Changpeng Zhao said in a letter to Nigerian customers dated January 29 that the decision to restrict certain personal accounts was to ensure user safety.

The result fell on Wall Street, Wednesday evening February 2: the Metaverse project last year cost more than 10 billion dollars (8.9 billion euros) to the company of Menlo Park (California) but n 'generated only $2.3 billion in revenue. Logically, the action of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook group collapsed by about a quarter, sending 210 billion dollars up in smoke. Following this loss, Facebook no longer risks putting its own cryptocurrency into circulation. GadgetsNow, which announces the information, indicates that Meta has simply abandoned its project.

Wormhole, a site that allows information to be transferred from one cryptocurrency network to another, has been scammed. Hackers have stolen cryptocurrencies worth over $320 million from a decentralized financial platform. It is the fourth largest cryptocurrency heist on record and the latest to rock the booming DeFi sector.

Stock markets

The bond market resumed its decline at the beginning of February. While observers expected it to consolidate the rise of nearly 28 billion recorded on January 31, 2022, the market capitalization of the bond market of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) rather took the opposite direction to the end of the trading session of this Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

The trading session of Wednesday, February 2, 2022 of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) ended with a strong downward trend. Both indices ended the day with a negative variation. The market capitalization of the equity market recorded a drop of 16.943 billion FCFA to 6139.324 billion FCFA against 6156.267 billion FCFA the day before. That of the bond market is also down by 17.901 billion to 7253.307 billion FCFA against 7271.208 billion FCFA on February 1, 2022. Regarding the total value of transactions, it took a nose dive, amounting to 415.781 million FCFA while it stood at 2.432 billion FCFA on Tuesday February 1, 2022.

Money Market

The estimated overall volume of public securities issues by auction projected by seven of the eight member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) on the sub-regional financial market for the year 2022, amounts to 4672 billion of FCFA (7.008 billion euros). This amount results from a note sent to investors operating on the WAMU financial market by Adrien Diouf, Director of UMOA-Titres.

The Senegalese Public Treasury proceeded to raise new funds on the WAEMU financial market. This was at the end of its issue of assimilable treasury bonds (OAT) with a duration of 10 years, carried out on Friday, January 28, 2022. After auction, the issuer retained 55 billion FCFA and rejected the 8.933 billion CFA francs remaining, ie an absorption rate of 86.03%. The funds raised aim to cover the financing needs of the State budget.

The State of Burkina Faso raised Wednesday, February 2, 2022, on the regional financial market, a sum of 27.855 billion FCFA. It was at the end of its issue of assimilable treasury bonds (OAT) with a duration of 3 years. According to the UMOA-Titres agency, there were bids totaling 58.855 billion FCFA out of an auction amount of 30 billion FCFA, representing a coverage rate of 196.19%.

Benin raised on February 3, 2022, 77 billion FCFA from investors in the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA). The country carried out an issue by auction of assimilable treasury bonds (OAT) with maturities of 7 and 10 years. The objective is to cover the financing needs of its budget, the State of Benin, through its Public Treasury.

Raw materials

The oil market has soared in recent days. As prices climbed on Friday, the two crude benchmarks are moving above the symbolic bar of 90 dollars per barrel. Around 10:45 a.m. GMT (11:45 a.m. CET), the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in April took 1.37% to 92.36 dollars. In New York, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery gained 1.61% to 91.72 dollars.

In 2021, Côte d'Ivoire recorded a 24.4% jump in its cotton export volumes compared to the previous year. Natural rubber from Côte d'Ivoire is number 2 in terms of annual performance, with growth of 2% to 1,229,947 t. On the other hand, sales of Ivorian coffee, the Robusta variety, internationally collapsed in 2021, falling by 58% to 28,026 t, still according to provisional customs statistics. As for cocoa and cocoa products, port statistics do not relate to the calendar year but to the last quarter of 2021, corresponding to the first three months of the current 2021/22 campaign.

Companies

As part of strengthening the competitiveness of the regions, the Côte d'Ivoire SME Agency supports the creation of wealth by the private sector. Thus, 300 promoters, including 80 SMEs, 120 project idea holders and 100 Agricultural Producer Organizations in the Bélier region will be supported. This initiative of the Côte d'Ivoire SME Agency is part of the support for the implementation of the "Support for private sector development" component of the Agro-Industrial Pole Project in the Bélier Region (2PAI-Belier) .

Five months after raising $23 million in Series A financing, Moove Africa has raised new capital, bringing the total funds raised to date to $78 million. For its first investment in sub-Saharan Africa, NBK Capital Partners commits $10 million to Moove Africa. The transaction was executed by NBK Capital Partners' second mezzanine fund. Its objective is to increase its presence in West Africa.

The Société Ivoirienne de Banque (SIB) inaugurated its third “Business Center” on February 1, 2022. Located in the industrial zone of Vridi, in the municipality of Port-Bouet, the 3rd "Business Center" of the SIB is initiated as part of the implementation of Impact 2023, the company's strategic development plan. . The objective is to support SMEs in the port area.

The Société d'Exploitation du Train Express Régional (SETER), a subsidiary of the SNCF/KEOLIS group, provides service to the Dakar-Diamniadio railway line over a distance of 36 km around 13 stations with the objective of 115,000 passengers/day. In an exclusive interview granted to Financial Afrik, Frédéric Bardenet, its Managing Director announced that the company already has 950 employees.

Sun Exchange has announced that it has obtained $1.4 million for the construction of a sustainable energy project in Zimbabwe. Thus, Zimbabwe will receive a project that introduces Bitcoin into its financing structure. In accordance with its method of execution, it puts on sale photovoltaic cells which, this time, have been purchased by 1905 people in 98 countries. Buyers of these energy assets make them available for electrification projects in areas with little or no grid service. The refund will be made over twenty years later, either in Bitcoin or in South African rand.

Banks and Insurance

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has just made an essential point regarding the strengthening of its commitment to transparency in the dissemination of information on its operations, in accordance with international standards. It is a member of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IITA). A community of one hundred and two (102) members, from United Nations agencies, international development organizations and civil society, who are committed to promoting greater transparency.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has decided to release 3 billion dollars, or 1,764 billion CFA francs to strengthen the continent's pharmaceutical industry. The announcement was made by its president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina who estimated between 80 and 95% the rate of imports of pharmaceutical products, while there is "a concentration" of diseases in Africa such as Malaria , AIDS, Yellow Fever or Ebola.

With Senegal, the Pan-African bank has signed four financing agreements relating to employment, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the opening up and empowerment of women. One of the agreements signed relates to the Support Program for Industrial Acceleration, Competitiveness and Employment (PAICE), for an amount of 71.5 billion CFA francs.

During his visit to Bissau, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina announced a $30 million loan to the country to support infrastructure, budget and governance. Akinwumi Adesina's visit coincided with the launch of the AfDB-supported project to enhance the role and financial inclusion of women and youth in cashew, fruit and vegetable production. Of this loan of $30 million allocated, $14 million is intended to improve the road network.

Orabank Togo has just embarked on a new dynamic to improve infrastructure services for more than 500,000 people. The bank received from GuarantCo, a member of the Private infrastructure Development group (PIDG), a portfolio guarantee of 14.55 billion FCFA. The portfolio guarantee concerns road network and telecommunications development projects in Togo. It should enable the bank to benefit from capital relief enabling it to develop its infrastructure portfolio while remaining within the limits of single debtors.

The insurance market in Cameroon reached a turnover of 211.43 billion CFA francs. The data was published in the 2020 report of the Insurance Department of the General Directorate of Treasury and Financial and Monetary Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance on the insurance market in Cameroon. The 142-page document indicates that as of December 31, 2020, the insurance market in Cameroon has 28 approved insurance companies, including 17 in the damages branch and 11 in life and capitalization; 105 general agents; 136 brokers and 121 non-salaried agents.

Initiated by Philip Couboura, “ASSURINO” is the digital platform that connects policyholders with approved professionals in the insurance sector. The objective of its implementation is to simplify life for people wishing to take out insurance in the face of the difficulties they encounter in all the steps.

Financial crimes

The new authorities of Conakry, in particular the Prime Minister Mohamed Béavogui, discovered, with amazement, that the country experienced a very high level of corruption. Indeed, Wednesday January 23, 2022, Mr. Béavogui painted a gloomy picture of the management of the country, 5 months after the overthrow of President Alpha Condé by the military. Among other things, he discovered 4,500 phantom civil servants, that is to say people paid by the civil service but who do not really exist, according to the voaafrique.com site.

Tax evasion has plagued Gabon's tax revenues for several years. The report “tax justice: state of play 2021”, published by the Tax Justice Network group indicates that the total annual loss of tax revenue amounts to 248.7 million dollars (144.369 billion CFA francs). These annual tax losses related to corporate tax abuse are equivalent to the possible full vaccination of 14.5 million people and represent 1.4% of the country's GDP, according to data from the report “Tax justice: state of play”.

Boubacar Biaye, deputy of the Alliance for the Republic (APR), the presidential party, was charged and imprisoned on Monday in Dakar for "fraud and association of criminals, forgery and use of forgery, migrant smuggling and money laundering. El Hadji Mamadou Sall, also a member of the ruling party, was imprisoned at the end of December for the same offences.They are suspected of having paid for their services to allow individuals to obtain diplomatic passports.

Governance

Benin now chairs the Council of Ministers of the Multinational School of Telecommunications (ESMT). Hassane Moussa Barazé, Nigerien Minister of Post and New Information Technologies handed over the baton to Aurélie Adam Souley Zoumarou who becomes the new President of the Council.

Regional growth

Member states of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) concluded negotiations on rules of origin this week. A measure that should further reduce customs duties on goods within the African continent.

Within the UEMOA space, domestic claims increased by 13.3% year-on-year to stand at 41,581.8 billion CFA francs in November 2021. According to the Bceao which provides the information, the financing of greater needs States, in connection with the Covid-19 crisis and the execution of recovery plans, contributed to increasing the net claims of depository corporations on the central government.

The annual rate of money supply in the Union recorded a slowdown for the fourth consecutive month. According to the Bceao, it fell from 20.6% in July 2021 to 14.9% in November 2021, against 16.7% a month earlier.