(Business in Cameroon) – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is expected to finalize a 200 billion CFA franc financing deal for the State of Cameroon in June 2025. The funding will be secured on the public securities market of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the issuing institution for the six CEMAC countries.
Samuel Tela, Director of Treasury at Cameroon’s Ministry of Finance (Minfi), disclosed the information on national television.
According to Tela, the operation will be structured as a swap. Afreximbank will convert euros into 200 billion CFA francs with BEAC. This conversion will then allow Afreximbank to subscribe to a Treasury bond issuance (Obligations du Trésor Assimilables, or OTA) launched by Cameroon’s public treasury on the sub-regional securities market. OTAs are medium- to long-term public debt instruments with maturities ranging from 2 to 10 years, typically used to finance investment projects.
The operation, currently being finalized by the Ministry of Finance, will mark Afreximbank as the first foreign financial institution to participate in the CEMAC public securities market. This pioneering move could draw interest from other international investors to a market where local actors are nearly saturated due to significant funding demands from CEMAC member states.
Reliable sources indicate that this deal between the Cameroonian government and Afreximbank will contribute to the 380 billion CFA francs that the public treasury is authorized to raise through public securities in 2025. This authorization stems from an enabling decree signed on January 28, 2025, by the President of the Republic, granting power to the Minister of Finance.
BRM
