(Business in Cameroon) - In 2023, the six Cemac countries collectively raised CFA4,336.3 billion on the public securities market of the Central African States Bank (Beac), CFA2,500 billion less than the amount Waemu countries raised on their regional public securities market over the same period. According to data from the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao), Waemu nations - Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo – raised CFA6,829.6 billion on the securities market in 2023.

Beac reported that of the CFA4,336.3 billion raised in 2023, CFA2,435.3 billion were collected through fungible Treasury bills (BTA) and the remaining through Treasury bonds (OTA). In the Waemu, though the breakdown of financing by maturity of securities was not specified, out of a total of CFA7,150.6 billion of securities issued in 2023 by the states, CFA3,546 billion were in OTA and CFA3,604 billion in BTA.

This means that, while Waemu exhibits an almost perfect balance between treasury financing needs and those of public investments, Beac statistics show that in 2023, Cemac countries mainly turned to the money market to meet their short-term treasury needs rather than financing infrastructure. Financial experts explain that while bond issuances, due to their maturities, are better suited for project financing, BTAs are used to cover short-term treasury needs. This preference for treasury needs over investments is further evident as the majority of funds mobilized by the states were through very short-term securities issuances, notably 13 and 26-week BTAs.

The latest Beac monetary policy report reveals that "26-week bills remained the most favored (in 2023), with a total amount issued of CFA1,353.6 billion, representing 55.6% of the total BTA issuances during the period. 13-week BTAs come in second with an amount issued of CFA679.8 billion. 52-week BTAs are the least issued, with a total amount of CFA401.9 billion." Over the period, through 26-week BTA issuances, Cemac states aimed to raise nearly four times more funding than that sought through 52-week BTAs, despite the latter offering a much longer repayment period.

This rush towards public treasury financing was observed in almost all countries of the community during the period under review. According to central bank data, 71% of the values issued by Cameroon were 26-week BTAs. During the same period, the country issued CFA151 billion worth of 13-week BTAs, more than the CFA106.6 billion in OTA issuances made throughout the year, against only CFA70.4 billion in 52-week maturity securities.