The cabinet director, Henri Loundou, representing the Minister of Finance and Budget, Calixte Nganongo, Calixte Nganongo, presided over, Tuesday 19 March 2019 in Brazzaville, the workshops of the first consultation meeting of Treasury Security Specialist (TS) of this year, under the coordination of the National Director of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). 

During the opening ceremony, Henri Loundou said that “the putting in place of the open subscription public secuty market is, inter alia, an alternative solution to the abolition of BEAC advances to national Treasuries, formerly secure financing for Treasuries; an opportunity for credit institutions to invest their cash and recycle their domestic savings; and finally, a means of diversifying the investment media of savers and investors. Businesses and individuals may, through their banks, subscribe to profitable, low-risk and liquid financial istruments. Cash management is similar to that of a company, but differs by the higher amounts and the fact that the State manages more liabilities (budget deficit and cash charges) while businesses seek to invest surplus cash. The solution is the same: getting into debt in the best possible conditions to meet its financial needs”.

According to the speaker, the Treasury of Congo, which entered the open-sibscription public security market in 2017, is performing well. No default was reproted, he said. The overall amount mobilized in the comparable treasury bills (CTBs) sub fund in 2017 was tripled in 2018, he added, hoping that the Government would ssue, through the Treasury, comparable treasury bons (CTBs) sub fund for the financing of investment projects.  

The cabinet director of the Minister of Finance said that due to dificulties faced by businesses and credit institutions, difficulties related to fixed receivables, the Government is endeavouring to turn fixed receivables into negotiable public effects through the securitization of its domestic debt.

At the end of his communication, Henri Loundou said that after the closing of the audit of the Congolese social domestic debt (a pre-securitization step), the audit of domestic commercial debt will be completed in the next few months. Therfore, he said, the ongoing signing of an Agreement between Congo and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) includes, among the priorities, the clearance of this domestic debt. 

Ultimately, “the mission of credit institutions is to support CEMAC States in their development, in accordance with the specifications of their installations”.  In other words, they must take part in auctioning sessions of national treasury. The year 2019 augurs hope, from January to date: the achievements have exceeded those of the whole 2017, the director of cabinet said.  He invited the TS who hesitated or who were wary of the securities of Congo, to trust them. “There is no risk in subscribing to Congolese Treasury securities” he said.

It should be noted that two other communications marked the consultation of 19 March 2019, namely: The organization and the functioning of public securities market, presented by Gatien Ondaye Obili (BEAC) and the Treasury securities issue and management, by Raymond Yoka-lkama (Treasury).

The Press office of the Ministry of Finance