This quarter, Togo’s public treasury aims to raise CFA110 billion on the WAMU securities market. 

To this end, it will issue 10-year fungible bonds on July 23 and August 20. Lomé eyes a turnover of CFA50 billion for these two issues - CFA25 billion respectively.  

To close the quarter, the country plans to undertake, on September 17, two simultaneous issues (of fungible treasury bonds also) which should attract CFA60 billion (CFA30 billion per issue). The two operations will have distinct maturities: 7 years and 10 years. 

During the same quarter, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, and Niger also plan to raise funds on the regional securities market (CFA100 billion, CFA165 billion, CFA385 billion, CFA15 billion, CFA190 billion, and CFA110 billion respectively). Senegal will be absent from that market. 

Let’s recall that over the past quarter, Togo raised CFA183 billion while it expected CFA165 billion. 

 Esaïe Edoh

Togo produced nearly 153,000 tons of rice last year. The figure, revealed by the BCEAO, is up compared to the outputs recorded in 2019 and 2018, respectively 147,000 tons and 145,000 tons. 

Though it keeps producing more over the years, the country is still far from being self-sufficient. Regarding imports, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that Togo received 150,000 tons (50% of its annual consumption) of rice, mainly from Southeast Asia, in 2018. 

Besides, several ongoing agro-industrial projects, including the Africa Europa Farm initiative that aims to valorize the Mono Valley, cover the rice sector. 

Let’s recall that Togo, supported by the FAO, looks to spend CFA987 billion by 2030 to develop the rice sector. 

The National Food Security Agency of Togo (ANSAT) sold 887 tons of cereals over the past month. 

This includes 874 tons of corn and 13 tons of sorghum. The 50kg-bag of the former was sold at CFA9,500 while the 50-kg bag of sorghum was sold at CFA10,500. 

The supply helped lower market prices of corn - the bowl (2.5kg) is now sold at around CFA700 (against CFA750-800 previously) in Lomé and CFA600 in other parts of the country.

Ouro Koura Agadazi, Director-General of ANSAT, said that despite this reduction, the situation in the sector remains concerning “due to speculation, external pressure, and illegal export.”

Thus, the government has decided to take drastic measures to tackle the smuggling of cereals and alleviate market pressure. “At first, we adopted a sensitization approach. From now on, we will indefinitely confiscate any smuggled stock we seize at our borders,” the ANSAT’s official warned.  

The ANSAT, it should be noted, decided to open up its grain stock to the market due to a sustained surge in prices over the past few months. As at June 30, 2021, the Agency had 12,917.07 tons of cereals stored in its warehouses. 

Esaïe Edoh

For the second consecutive year, Togo is the country that exported the largest volume of organic soybeans to Europe. The West African nation, according to a report recently released by the EU Commission, sent 51,000 of the crop to the Schengen Area.  

This is 20% more than the volume it exported to the same region in 2019, knowingly 42,300 t. 

In the 2020 ranking, Togo came ahead of Ukraine (28,000 t), India (15,000 t), and Kazakhstan (11,000 t). Other African countries that distinguished themselves include Uganda (8,000 t), Benin (6,000 t), and Burkina Faso (5,000 t).

Regarding organic agro-food products, the report’s authors indicated that Togo exported 54,017 tons to the EU in 2020 (against 44,684 t the year before). It ranked 13th worldwide in this aspect, and second in Africa, standing behind Tunisia and right before Egypt - the same as in 2019. 

According to Togolese authorities, the country’s performances, “once again are proof that the government gives particular attention to organic farming and to the actors of this agricultural value chain.” By particular attention, the authorities refer, among others, to a battery of reforms launched via the Mécanisme incitatif de financement agricole (Mifa), a mechanism to boost agricultural financing.

Togo produced 176,000 tons of soybeans in 2019-2020. Of this volume, 160,000 tons of organic and non-organic beans were exported, for about CFA50 billion.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo should disburse CFA199 billion between July and September 2021 to service its debt on the WAMU’s Public Securities Market (MTP). 

The figure breaks into CFA163 billion for principal payments and CFA36 billion for interests. 

Lomé, which paid back CFA4 billion on July 5, plans to pay, in all, CFA65 billion before the month ends. In August, it intends to pay CFA109 billion, and CFA25 billion in September. 

Let’s recall that throughout the second quarter of the year, Togo raised CFA183 billion on the regional money market, thus 11% more than it expected - CFA165 billion. 

 Esaïe Edoh

Togo raised CFA183 billion on the regional money market in Q2 2021. This is 11% more than what it expected - CFA165 billion. 

The unexpected increase was driven by the 10-year maturity issue of fungible Treasury bonds Lomé completed on April 16. 

For that issue, the country, which was seeking CFA15 billion, raised CFA87 billion and retained CFA59 billion (at an interest rate of 6.32%).  Meanwhile, the two other issues launched the same day underperformed; Expected to raise CFA30 billion each, only 8 billion and 16 billion were retained (at interest rates of 5.78% and 6.09% respectively). With these three issues, the country raised 50% of its quarterly goal - CFA165 billion.  

On April 30, the Togolese treasury retained CFA22 billion (CFA2 billion more than its goal) out of 52 billion regional investors poured into the related issue. The latter will mature over 5 years, at an average weighted rate of 5.69%. 

On May, 21st, and 28th, CFA22 billion and CFA28 billion were raised through 7-year and 5-year maturing issues. Respective interest rates of these issues were 5.95% and 5.66%. 

The quarter closed with the issue of fungible Treasury bonds that will mature over 7 years, at an interest rate of 5.9%. This operation enabled Togo to grab CFA28 billion on the UEMOA market. 

Klétus Situ

Burkinabe construction mogul and owner of EBOMAF, Mahamadou Bonkoungou, has decided to enter Togo’s bank and finance industry. The businessman launched June 29, 2021, a financial firm called IB Holding.

Registered as a one-person limited company (OPC) at the Togolese Trade and Property Credit Office, the firm has a seed capital of CFA30 billion.  IB Holding will “acquire stakes in the banking sector, in particular, credit institutions, electronic money institutions, decentralized financial systems, financial companies, auxiliary service companies and any other entity whose activity is related to them.”

Bonkoungou himself will chair IB Holding’s board of directors while Nabil Tahari, manager at IB Bank (also one of the Bonkoungou’s firms), will act as Managing Director of the new entity. IB Holding is headquartered in Tokoin Casablanca, the same as EBOMAF.

With IB Holding, Mahamadou Bonkoungou hopes to reinforce his operations in Togo. The finance company indeed joins EBOMAF, the billionaire’s construction company that is present in many African countries. 

In 2020, EBOMAF started constructing the N°5 Lomé-Kpalime national road (120 km); a project estimated to cost CFA214 billion. 

IB Bank for its part started operating in Djibouti last January. The lender was reborn from the ashes of Banque de l’Habitat du Burkina Faso (BHBF), which Mahamadou Bonkoungou purchased and renamed in 2018.  

 Esaïe Edoh