(Business in Cameroon) – Interest in Central African government bonds surged in February 2025, despite growing concerns over sovereign default risks. New data from the Central Bank (BEAC) show that the subscription rate for government securities issued by CEMAC countries rose sharply to 89.94%, up from 60.28% in January.
This means that out of CFA100 billion sought by CEMAC governments in February, nearly CFA90 billion was secured—compared to just CFA60 billion a month earlier.
The increase comes even though fewer authorized primary dealers—mostly local banks—took part in the auctions. Their participation rate dropped to 16.08% in February, down from 22.27% in January. Still, those who did take part subscribed to a larger share of the debt.
This renewed interest comes at a time when many of these banks already hold significant volumes of government bonds. As of February, primary dealers were holding CFA4,673.4 billion in CEMAC public debt, representing 62.1% of all government securities in circulation across the region. If any of the issuing countries were to miss payments—as some have done in recent months—these banks would be directly affected.
Besides the higher subscription rate, February also saw a rise in the average cost of borrowing for governments. The yield offered to investors increased from 7.78% in January to 8.2% in February.
