The Entrepreneur - Cameroon's Premier Economic & Business Journal

The WTO has Failed Developing Nations

Ten years after the adoption of the Doha Declaration, the "development" round of trade negotiations has merely offered empty promises. In this short op-ed, Aurelie Walker of the Fairtrade Foundation sums up ten ways in which the WTO membership has failed the world's poor. Overtly biased "trade-related issues" such as rich-country subsidies and the ambiguity of trade rules, have been ignored or intensified by the powerful countries. Furthermore, specifically "pro-development" policies such as special treatment and improved access to vital medicines have been deliberately neglected. Even if international trade could indeed be part of an effort to combat poverty, a model of trade that is based on global competitiveness instead of cooperation is certain to fail, Walker argues...More

Developing Countries to Receive Over $350 Billion in Remittances in 2011, Says World Bank Report

Remittance flows to developing countries are expected to total $351 billion this year, and worldwide remittances, including those to high-income countries, will reach $406 billion for the current calendar year, according to a newly updated World Bank brief on global migration and remittances. The top recipients of officially recorded remittances, estimated for 2011, are India ($58 billion), China ($57 billion), Mexico ($24 billion), and the Philippines ($23 billion). Other large recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Lebanon. While the economic slowdown is dampening employment prospects for migrant workers in some high-income countries, global remittances, nevertheless, are expected to stay on a growth path and, by 2014, are forecast to reach $515 billion. Of that, $441 billion will flow to developing countries, according to the latest issue of the Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, released today at the fifth meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Geneva...More

Douala Stock Exchange

Le Douala Stock Exchange (DSX) a terminé sa séance de cotation du 28 novembre 2011. Les valeurs SEMC, SAFACAM et SOCAPALM ont clôturé respectivement à 113 306 FCFA, à 54 107 FCFA et à 41 499 FCFA suivant un trend stable. En terme de physionomie de marché, le marché des actions a enregistré un chiffre d’affaires de 829 980 FCFA, correspondant à 20 titres SOCAPALM transigés. La capitalisation boursière se chiffre à présent à 96 540 147 145 FCFA. Pour le marché des obligations, les obligations « MOABI IFC 4,25% 2009 – 2014 », La valeur « ECMR 5,6% net 2010-2015 » et « BDEAC 5,5% net 2010-2017 » restent stables respectivement à 97%, 99.99% et à 100%, pied de coupon. Le marché obligataire n’a enregistré aucune transaction. La capitalisation du marché obligataire s’établit à 219 335 000 000 FCFA.

Cameroon, BEAC see no CFA franc devaluation

By Tansa Musa

Cameroon's finance minister and Central Africa's top central banker both said on Monday there would be no devaluation of the CFA franc currency used by 14 states in Africa, denying market rumours. The CFA franc is currently tied to the euro at a fixed exchange rate of one euro to 655.957 CFA francs, with the peg guaranteed by the French treasury. It was last devalued in 1994 -- at that time versus the French franc -- to allow the heavily indebted countries to export more. "As I am talking to you now, I, as minister of finance, I don't know where this rumour started. I only learnt about it on the Internet," Essimi Menye told reporters in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde.

Cameroon launches Sale of Treasury Bonds to Finance Infrastructure Projects

By Ben Nakomo and Sirri Alette Ngwa

The government of Cameroon has embarked on an operation to raise the sum of 50 billion francs CFA (about 120 Million USD) through the sale of treasury bonds. The proceed from the sale is expected to finance the first phase of major projects earmarked for the 2012 budgetary year. The operation was launched during a meeting that brought together the Minister of Finance and  officials of accredited banks in Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Gabon. The latest sale of treasury bonds by the government of Cameroon follows on the sales of 250 billion Francs CFA (about 600 million US dollars) almost a year ago. This was over subscribed, and the sale was over within seven business days beating  the expectations of government officials.

'Sushi king' Kunene's tribute to Muammar Gaddafi

Businessman Kenny Kunene's 40th birthday party caused uproar when he ate sushi off half-naked models. His 41st was no less colourful or provocative.

Flamboyant South African businessman Kenny Kunene celebrated by dressing up as one of his idols, Muammar Gaddafi, in a flowing cream robe. He surrounded himself with six models wearing camouflage-pattern bikinis and brandishing fake AK47 rifles – an apparent reference to Gaddafi's infamous "Amazonian guard". The multimillion-rand celebrations, held last week in Alexandra township in Johannesburg, also featured pictures of the deposed Libyan leader on huge TV screens. Kunene said he was inspired by Nelson Mandela's loyalty to Gaddafi as a supporter of the liberation struggle in Africa. "I'm very political," Kunene said. "I looked at what's happening in Libya and know Gaddafi was overthrown for oil by America and Britain. I felt that I wanted to celebrate Gaddafi as a living legend for contributing to the liberation we enjoy today. I was celebrating him as a father of the liberation struggle."...More

Planned Expansion at SONARA Oil Refinery

By Simon Tanyi

Despite Cameroon's declining oil reserves, the Country's national oil refinery, SONARA is planning to expand. The upbeat of the officials comes amidst the expanding oil exploration in the neighbouring states of Equatorial Guinee and Gabon, and further afield along the West African Atlantic coast to Ghana. The SONARA refinery is to be equiped to process Ghana's and Equatorial Guinee's heavy crude. To meet its expansion plans, the refinery recently sourced for external financiers. According to Charles Metouk, the general manager, SONARA will soon receive 75 billion CFA francs ($164 million) from eight banks to fund its expansion. This will allow it to increase capacity to 4 million metric tons by 2015 from the current 2.1 million tons. The lender institutions include London headquartered Standard Chartered Plc (STAN), Societe Generale (GLE) SA’s unit in Cameroon, Lome-based Banque Atlantique and Commercial Bank of Cameroon. The refinery, which is currently able to only process light crude, will start refining heavy crude after the refurbishment. © The Entrepreneur Newspaper 2011. All Rights Reserved

East Africa Could Match Japan in Ease of Doing Business

By Kimberlee A. Brown

A recent World Bank report has assessed the potential of East African states in garnering new investments and promoting entrepreneurship development. According to the report, "if the best of East African regulations and procedures were implemented across the board, the business regulatory environment in East Africa, as measured by the report, would be comparable to that in Japan." The report, Doing Business in the East African Community 2011, draws on data from the annual global Doing Business study and takes a detailed look at business regulations in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The report states that East Africa could benefit from sharing good practices in business regulation as measured by Doing Business.

Top hotels wake up to Africa growth potential

By Wendell Roelf

Global hotel chains are poised to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in Africa over the next few years to meet increased demand from both international tourists and the continent's own fast-emerging middle class. Africa was the only region in the world to show growth in tourism in 2009, according to the World Tourism Organisation. In 2010 international arrivals rose by 6 percent to 49 million, slower than Asia or the Americas but double the growth rate for Europe. Industry executives say that as consumer spending stalls in developed markets, more multinationals are betting Africa's growth will eventually translate into meaningful revenue -- if they can negotiate the considerable regulatory and infrastructure challenges of doing business there. InterContinental Hotel Group, Accor, Starwood and Rezidor Hotel Group, the group that operates the Radisson Blu chain, are among those looking to capitalise on the continent's urbanisation and build up its underdeveloped hotel industry.

Cameroon cocoa output hits record

By Tansa Musa

Cocoa production in Cameroon, the world's fifth largest grower, hit a record 236,701 tonnes during the 2010-11 season, according to preliminary figures released by the state agricultural regulator on Friday, August 12, 2011. The bumper crop adds to record volumes from other top producers in West Africa like Ivory Coast and Ghana that promises to swell global stockpiles of the bean, the raw ingredient in chocolate. Cameroon output for the year-long season which ended on July 31 -- including exports, local grinding, and stockpiling -- amounted to 236,701 tonnes. That broke the previous record of 210,000 tonnes during the 2008-09 season, according to the National Cocoa and Coffee Board. Cocoa exports totaled 202,721 tonnes, up nearly 18 percent from the previous season's 172,177 tonnes, while local grinding by the sole domestic processor Sic-Cacaos hit 28,423 tonnes, and stockpiling hit 5,557 tonnes, NCCB said.