Business

By NFOR Hanson NCHANJI

Tension almost escalated to violence between traders and the management team of the Sandaga market in the economic capital of Douala as a two hour meeting that held at the office of the government delegate to the Douala city council ended in a fiasco. A consensus on how to better manage the market was never arrived at. However, the government delegate to the Douala City Council, Dr Fritz NTONE NTONE who chaired the meeting, urged the two camps to adhere to the resolutions arrived at which were that the Arthur cabinet will have to work in close collaboration with the Douala City Council to spell out the judicial terms of management, though without precision, it was decided that taxes per shop and stall will be reduced.

Cameroon Concord gathered that traders are asking the management team which owns the land, Arthur Cabinet to reduce taxes on stalls which according to them is sheer extortion. Shops now cost 30,000 fcfa to 150 000, which at first were given out at 3000; stalls are now rented on break-neck-figures, which the traders say they can’t afford.

Violence had earlier escalated in the month of October when tracks were allegedly distributed by an NGO Cameroon O’Bosso, calling on traders to embark on a violent strike action but police dispersed the crowd before they could make any move. Located along the coastal zone in Douala, the Sandaga market is the biggest fruit and vegetable market in the Central African sub region with 80 percent of traders mostly women, commonly called ‘buyam sellam’.

 

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

13.Dec.2014

Hits: 2458

Write comment (0 Comments)

The Cameroon government has secured the confidence of some major banks to jointly finance the three-year Emergency Plan (2015-2018) to accelerate the growth of the country's economy. The banks include the Cameroonian subsidiary BGFI, Standard Chartered Bank, Atlantic Bank, Ecobank and Deutsche Bank in Madrid. Cameroon Concord gathered that the above banks will provide 633.5 billion to add to the 925 billion CFA Francs sought by the State for the implementation of this project.

 The Deutsche Bank SAE intends to make available the sum of 13 million euros (about 8.5 billion CFA Francs) to enable Cameroon finance the construction of slaughterhouses and cold stores in many parts of the country. For its part BGFI Cameroon intends to release 100 billion CFA Francs which will be used to finance the rehabilitation of secondary roads and street lighting in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé. Ecobank has promised $ 35 billion which will be for the construction of water supply systems urban and rural regions. The Ecobank money will also be channelled to building 3,000 wells in areas of Adamawa and North and also the construction of the gendarmerie and police stations in Yaoundé and Douala.

Bank Atlantic Cameroon has announced that it is ready to release 190 billion that will be for the financing of the "Project 100 Social Housing" in every capital of the ten regions. This will also include the construction project and equipping of reference hospitals in the regional capitals and above all, the rehabilitation and upgrading of technical facilities

Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon reported to be raising the lions share approximately 300 billion CFA Francs) will be to finance the construction project of roads linking up each region, as well as the proposed creation of agro poles and 12,000 hectares of hydro-agricultural perimeter. According to the President of the Republic who was speaking at the Ministerial Council held last Tuesday, the loans were obtained in the "best interest of the Cameroonian people”.

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

12.Dec.2014

Hits: 2159

Write comment (0 Comments)

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

11.Dec.2014

Hits: 2299

Write comment (0 Comments)

On December 3, 2014, Cameroon’s Treasury Department began issuing Treasury bills totalling 5 billion FCFA with a 13-week maturity on the Central African States Bank (BEAC) securities market.

Subscriptions can be made at 13 CEMAC zone banks authorised by Cameroon’s Finance Ministry to act as Primary Dealers (SVT). In total, the State will have raised close to 100 billion FCFA on the BEAC for 2014.

At the same time, on November 24, 2014, Cameroon issued Treasury bonds for a total of 150 billion FCFA on the Douala Stock Exchange (DSX), the country’s securities market. Subscriptions close on December 23.

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

09.Dec.2014

Hits: 2137

Write comment (0 Comments)

The stakes currently belong to the Brazilian company, Vale S.A., which has welcomed the upcoming transaction with Mitsui. “The transaction is essential for the continuity of our investment in Mozambique…as it provides the funding for the completion of the Moatize project and of the NLC [Nacala Logistic Corridor],” Vale S.A. said in a Tuesday statement. Many companies involved in the coal industry, including Vale, have decided to sell their stakes following a drastic fall in the global coal price which has dropped to five-year lows.

However, a Mitsui official has expressed optimism that the unfavorable situation in the coal market will undergo changes in the near future. "Some 80 percent of coal producers are considered to be running in the red. This won't continue long," said Kotaro Yamaguchi, Mitsui's coal department director, adding that "prices will go back to healthy levels." Mitsui & Co. is Japan’s second-largest trading house and one of the world’s largest corporate groups.

 

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

09.Dec.2014

Hits: 2088

Write comment (0 Comments)

 

Oil production in Cameroon rose 15 percent year-on-year to 22.69 million barrels by the end of October, according to the state oil firm, but output may double within the next two years as new fields come on line. Cameroon became a modest oil producer in 1977, with output hitting a record of 185,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 1986 before dropping steadily to 63,000 bpd in 2011 due to maturing fields.

However, new finds and new techniques to tap more oil from matured wells have seen volumes rising again. "This increase results particularly from the Dissoni field production, as well as the commissioning of three new fields: Padouk, Inter Inoua-Barombi and Barombi," Cameroon's National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) said in a statement on the output for the year to October.

The Dissoni oil field is operated by French oil firm Perenco in partnership with the state oil company. Perenco is also the operator in the Inter Inoua-Barombi and Barombi blocks. Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of Sinopec Group, operates Padouk. Some at the state company are even more optimistic. "Crude production could double within two years thanks to the exploitation of new deposits. It could hit 57 million barrels in 2016," the SNH official said, requesting anonymity. The state oil firm said in the statement that gas production jumped 123.9 percent to 9,160 million cubic feet compared with the same period last year.

 

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

09.Dec.2014

Hits: 2051

Write comment (0 Comments)