(Business in Cameroon) – In 2023, active investors in the bond segment of the Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC), based in Douala, Cameroon, received a total of CFA76.5 billion in interest payments on their investments. According to the 2023 activity report of the regional financial market covering the CEMAC countries, 74.5% of this amount, or CFA57 billion, came from the Central African States Development Bank (BDEAC).
The BDEAC was the largest issuer of interest payments on the market during the period under review, thanks to its three bond listings on the BVMAC. These include the 2020 bond issue, a 7-year bond with an annual interest rate of 5.45% (“BDEAC 5.45% Net 2020-2027”), which raised CFA106.7 billion on the regional financial market. There was also the public savings bond “BDEAC 5.6% Net 2021-2028” for CFA114.8 billion, and the most recent bond, “BDEAC 6% Net 2022-2029,” which raised CFA110.8 billion on the BVMAC.
Besides BDEAC, four CEMAC countries, which list a total of 10 sovereign bond issues on the market, paid a total of CFA19 billion in interest to BVMAC investors in 2023. The 2023 BVMAC activity report does not specify the amount paid by each country, but with five bond listings, Cameroon is likely the largest contributor, followed by Gabon with three bond listings, and Congo and Chad with one bond each.
The list of top payers to investors on the BVMAC concludes with Alios Finances Cameroon, a financial leasing company. This institution, a leader in the leasing market in Cameroon, paid CFA400 million in interest in 2023, thanks to its single private bond listing on the market.
Alios Finances Cameroon, a subsidiary of Tunisia Leasing and Factoring, which was recently acquired by Crédit d’Afrique Groupe of Ivorian businessman Serge Bilé, entered the BVMAC bond market with a multi-tranche bond issue in 2023. This was the second operation of its kind in the CEMAC zone, following Cameroon’s earlier issuance. The operation allowed Alios Finances to raise just over CFA8 billion out of the CFA10 billion it was targeting.
