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(Business in Cameroon) – 63% of Cameroon’s public debt issuances between June 2024 and June 2025 were short-term Treasury bills (BTA), according to BEAC.
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60% of the funds raised in early 2025 were used to repay maturing debt, highlighting liquidity stress.
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Average interest rate on BTA rose to 6.9%, up from 6.5% a year earlier, while Cameroon’s short-term borrowing costs jumped 11.6% year-on-year.
Cameroon issued over 63% of its public securities in short-term Treasury bills (BTA) between June 2024 and June 2025, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) said in its latest monetary policy report. The data underscores the country’s persistent cash-flow pressure.
BTA are short-term government instruments with maturities between 13 and 52 weeks, mainly used to cover temporary financing gaps such as debt service, salary payments, or pending state obligations. They contrast with longer-term Treasury bonds (OTA), which finance infrastructure projects with maturities of two to ten years.
The dominance of BTA issuance indicates Cameroon’s limited capacity to meet short-term liquidity needs from its own resources. The Ministry of Finance’s 2026–2028 Medium-Term Economic and Budgetary Programming Document, prepared ahead of the July 2025 budget orientation debate, supports this assessment.
CEMAC Region Mirrors Cameroon’s Liquidity Stress
The report notes that 60% of the CFA271.6 billion raised by Cameroon on the BEAC securities market between January and March 2025 was used to refinance maturing debt. Only CFA10.6 billion came from longer-term OTA, confirming the state’s heavy reliance on short-term borrowing.
This dependence extends across the six-member Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), where short-term debt dominates issuance. “Between June 2024 and June 2025, 431 auctions raised a total of CFA5,127.8 billion—CFA3,192.4 billion from BTA and CFA1,935.3 billion from OTA,” BEAC reported.
BTA with 26-week maturities remained most popular, totaling CFAF 1,493.9 billion, or 46.8% of all short-term issues. Cameroon, Chad, and Gabon accounted for the majority, with Chad issuing 80.9% of its short-term securities at this tenor, Cameroon 63.1%, and Gabon 59.2%.
Fifty-two-week bills followed with CFA954.4 billion, primarily from Congo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Thirteen-week bills were least used, at CFA744 billion.
Borrowing Costs Rise as Markets Tighten
The regional preference for short-term borrowing has pushed up yields. BEAC reported that “the average weighted rate on BTA reached 6.90% during the period, up from 6.50% between June 2023 and June 2024.”
Cameroon, once praised for keeping interest costs low, now faces steeper borrowing expenses. The Autonomous Sinking Fund (CAA) noted that average BTA rates for Cameroon rose 11.6% year-on-year by June 2025. The agency warned that “discussions are underway to mitigate refinancing risks amid tensions in the domestic market.”
Facing rising rates and tightening liquidity, Cameroon is now exploring alternative financing sources beyond domestic capital markets.
This article was initially published in French by Brice R. Mbodiam
Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum
