Togo First
Myriam Adotevi, MD Sunu Bank Togo: Our outstanding balance by more than 50% since SUNU Group took over
Since it was taken over by Sunu Group in 2018, as it was in an impasse, the BPEC, now Sunu Bank, has been trying as much as possible to get back on its feet.
Indeed, the losses that the lender accumulated since 2008 - the year in which dividends were last paid to its shareholders - were cleared in the past two years. This small win, according to Myriam Adotevi, MD, Sunu Bank Togo, is the start in the comeback of the bank since it was taken over by Papa Pathé Dione’s Group. A small win, which contrasts a plunge in the value of small shareholders’ investments.
In this interview, Adotevi, former chief of BGFI Benin reviews Sunu Bank’s results in 2020, a good year for the bank and one that offers promising prospects for the resumption of dividend payment.
Togo First (TF) : Despite the ongoing health crisis, SUNU Bank recently announced a profit of CFA249 million, its first since BPEC was taken over by SUNU Group. What were the main levers that drove this performance?
Myriam Adotevi (M.A) : This profit was achieved as a result of the strategy deployed when the SUNU Group took over. Activity growth (financing of individuals, liberal professions, SMEs, and large companies) was accompanied by the control of expenses and cost of risk. In the last few years, we focused on investment and upgrading the bank, by, among others, launching digital projects (WhatsApp Banking) to boost efficiency and provide our clients with better services.
Togo First (TF): SUNU Bank, which inherited BPEC's liabilities and assets, has one of the smallest loan portfolios in the Togolese banking sector. What are your plans to contribute more to the economy?
Myriam Adotevi (M.A): Indeed, while our loan portfolio seems weak, we should not forget that, historically, SUNU Bank inherited a portfolio mostly composed of individual customers; amounts lent to this category of customers do not yield a substantial balance. However, since 2019, we have been financing more SMEs engaged in the agricultural sector, and have more offers tailored for large companies. Our outstanding balance grew more than 50% from 2018 to 2020.
Togo First (TF): In 2020, you carried out an accordion deal, by simultaneously reducing and increasing your capital. What was the point of this operation? How does it impact your new main shareholder, SUNU Participations Holding? What about minority shareholders?
Myriam Adotevi (M.A): The capital reduction/increase was necessary to comply with banking regulations and OHADA standards related to the level of equity and share capital. It allowed us to absorb a huge part of the loss carryforward accumulated in the past. It is the new shareholder who suffered the biggest loss with the capital reduction and it is also that same shareholder who contributed, solely, to the capital increase that SUNU needed to meet the minimal level of equity imposed. As for minority shareholders, like explained during the general assembly we held in 2020, the deal lowered the value of their shares, but enabled them to expect some dividend in the short term. Also, it should be emphasized that the share values were previously down due to significant losses carried forward.
Togo First (TF): From - CFA11 billion in 2019, your carried-over losses amounted to - 15 million in 2020, and in that same year you reported a profit of CFA249 million. What does this improvement mean for shareholders?
Myriam Adotevi (M.A) : The carryforward effectively reduced from -CFA11 billion in 2019 to -265 million in June 2020, due to the capital reduction/increase. And with our profit of CFA250 million in 2020, this carryforward was further reduced to -15 million.
This is good news for shareholders, in terms of the distribution of dividends. However, it should be noted that small shareholders lost the most because of this situation which lasted for years. Truly, since 2008, no dividend was paid. When the SUNU Group took over the bank’s management, we promised them we would do everything to return to profit and get them their dividends. This is what we, the bank and its whole staff, are now doing. We have recruited new personnel and are leveraging the technical support of SUNU Group.
Togo First (TF): What are the bank’s goals and prospects for 2021?
Myriam Adotevi (M.A) : We will keep offering products and services of better quality, innovating to meet the needs and expectations of our customers. And we will continue controlling expenses, training our staff, and financing the Togolese economy.
Interview by Fiacre E. KAKPO
Former minister of mines and energy appointed Presidential advisor for the digital economy and digital sector
Marc Ably-Bidamon, Togo’s former minister of mines and energy, has been appointed minister-advisor of the President of the Republic in charge of issues related to the digital sector and digital economy.
Ably-Bidamon has much experience in the telecom and telephony sector. Holder of a Master’s in Telecommunication from the University of Lille in France, a DEA in electronics, and a master’s in telecommunication networks engineering, the newly-appointed occupied the position of Managing Director of Togo Cellulaire in the past.
The Togolese government, under its 2020-2025 roadmap, aims to make the country a digital hub. In this regard, Sandra Ablamba-Johnson, minister and secretary-general of the Togolese Presidency declared: “our goal now is to digitize all public services, create a single social register, implement biometric identification, and make major investments in digital infrastructures.”
Séna Akoda
Dematerialization of procedures at the PAL to commence on May 3, 2021
Dematerialization of procedures at the Autonomous Port of Lomé (PAL) will begin on May 3, 2021. The process, let it be recalled, was announced last March, 4th.
The PAL’s top management hence urges businesses, tax commissioners, and others to connect to the digital platform developed to this end (https ://epaltogo.com), provided they have their access details (username and password).
Those who do not yet have these details must contact the PAL’s commercial management, reads the statement released by the port authorities.
For the various payments associated with the port activities, a website (https://osipaye.com) was created to enable operators to settle old and new invoices. In this regard, the port authorities stress that only the following accept these payments: Moov Africa and TogoCom, BTCI, Ecobank, Orabank, and UTB. Besides these, wire transfers are also accepted.
Séna Akoda
MIFA, ProMIFA, and FAO work on strategies to develop poultry, corn, rice, and tomato sectors in Togo
Teams from the Mécanisme Incitatif de Financement Agricole fondé sur le partage de risques (MIFA), the MIFA support project, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are currently carrying out a data collection campaign to finalize strategies to develop the poultry, corn, rice, and tomato sectors in Togo.
The strategies will, according to delegates from the three bodies, “not only help draw policies, programs, and projects for the development of the agricultural sector but also lead to the efficient and sustainable management of natural resources.”
The partnership between MIFA, ProMIFA, and the FAO, aligns with the five-year roadmap of the Togolese government which aims at boosting agricultural productivity and yields in the four sectors concerned. This roadmap also aims to improve processing industries and farmers’ access to financing and markets.
Daniel Agbenonwossi (intern)
Kekeli Efficient Power thermal plant to be commissioned next Friday
On Friday, April 23, the Kekeli Efficient Power thermal plant located in the port area will be commissioned. Marc Alberola, Top Manager at Eranove - the concessionaire of the infrastructure- made the announcement.
“The lighting of the first flame will begin the industrial operationalization phase under which the first output of 47MW (open cycle) will be produced” by a Siemens SGT-800 gas turbine.
Under the next phase of the commissioning, an SST-200 steam turbine with a capacity of 18 MW will be launched. The project, developed under a public-private partnership, is one of the major projects planned under the 2018-2022 national development plan (PND).
In detail, the thermal plant is mainly (75%) owned by Kekeli Efficient Power, a subsidiary of the Eranove group. The remaining stake (25%) is owned by the Togolese State, via Kifema Capital, an investment vehicle whose shareholding includes Togo Invest, the CNSS, the INAM, and the CCIT.
Yearly, the Kekeli Efficient Power thermal plant will generate 532GWh, supplying energy to over 250,000 Togolese homes, thus more than 1.5 million people.
The related concession, it should be reminded, spans 25 years. It was signed by the State and Eranove in October 2018. Financial closing for the project was completed on July 10, 2020, with Oragroup and the BOAD co-arranging the process.
Séna Akoda
Operations at the Trade and Housing Credit Registry automated
Togolese authorities have updated the online platform dedicated to the Trade and Housing Credit Registry (RCCM). The new version allows businesses and individuals to carry out operations, notably those related to movable securities, without the support or prior approval of the Registry of Commercial Court of Lomé.
Concretely, any registered RCCM user can open an account and/or proceed to registrations, research, amendment, or cancellation without any help or approval from the RCCM-Registry. This was recently disclosed in a note issued by the president of the Commercial Court of Lomé.
Before the update, the document indicates, users needed to pay (via Tmoney or bank card) and wait for the Registry’s approval. While the process is now automated, the Court’s registry can ask for some information to be corrected. This is, following an ulterior control by the Registry.
Digital technologies, a major weapon to handle the Covid-19 crisis in Togo
In line with ambitions to become a digital hub by 2025, Togo greatly leveraged ICTs to handle the Covid-19 health crisis. This, despite experts’ claims that the digital revolution in the country is relatively modest.
Smartphones, a vector of solidarity amidst the pandemic
In the early stages of the pandemic, Togolese authorities launched the Novissi cash transfer scheme, a mobile money-based program aimed at helping those who were most affected by the pandemic and the countermeasures adopted by the government to fight it. Smartphones were the main tools used in this framework. They became e-wallets fostering national solidarity at the time. Figures from March 2021 indicate that Lomé distributed nearly CFA13 billion to different communities suffering from the crisis. This was done with the support of many partners, including notably the AfDB.
The cash transfer scheme was lauded by global actors for its originality and Togolese authorities were congratulated for smartly using digital technologies to handle the Covid-induced economic and health crises. The country was among those that best managed the pandemic, both in Africa and the world. According to Lowry Institute, Togo is the 2nd country to best handle the crisis in Africa, and the 15th worldwide.
Using digital technologies to trace exposed individuals
Besides the Novissi scheme, Togo also developed a contact-tracing app - Togo Safe - to warn those who came in contact with individuals who tested positive to Covid-19. The goal of this platform is to initiate, in real-time, the health protocol elaborated to contain the virus’s spread.
Accelerating vaccination through digital means
Still, in order to slow the virus’s spread, the government took a step that allows online preliminary registration for those who want to be vaccinated. The move aims at achieving collective immunity in the country, according to the official website of the Togolese Republic.
In a post published on the UN blog, Damien Mama, Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Togo, wrote that “Togo is on the way to improve its health and wealth, with digital technologies.” According to the UN official who has been in Togo for the past three years, “the digital sector is without a doubt one of the most promising means to achieve the sustainable development goals (...) in a small country with big ambitions like Togo”.
Séna Akoda
The safety level at Lomé’s airport is better than the global average
Two weeks into the audit launched by Lomé’s international airport (AIGE) to get its aerodrome certified, experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said the platform meets 80% of security standards imposed by the organization. This is 20% more than the global average, commented Edem Semenya, aerodrome inspector and chief of the auditing team. According to him, the AIGE is on the right track to get the certification needed to keep running its aerodrome.
While lauding the airport’s security standards, ICAO experts recommended an update of the aerodrome manual, the SGS manual, and the lighting of some obstacles at the aerodrome.
Before the certificate is effectively issued, noted Col. Gnama Latta, an audit report will be produced and submitted to the national agency for civil aviation (ANAC). The latter will then forward the report to Société Aéroportuaire de Lomé-Tokoin, alongside a corrective action plan. It is only when this plan is validated that the ANAC will provide the AIGE the certificate without which it cannot operate its aerodrome.
In parallel, let’s recall, the AIGE recently obtained its health certificate for efficiently handling the Covid-19 pandemic.
Séna Akoda
Less than a year after GDP rebasing, Togo’s debt rose 8%
At the end of Q4 2020, Togo’s debt to GDP ratio was 59%, according to its minister of economy and finance, Sani Yaya.
This is 8% more than the figure recorded at the end of Q3 2020. This was subsequent to the GDP rebasing after which the national GDP was re-evaluated at CFA4,230.6 billion in 2019, from CFA3,216.8 billion (before the rebasing). In debt-to-GDP ratio terms, before the rebasing, the figure in 2019 was 68.3% but it decreased to 51.9% subsequently.
In effect, GDP rebasing involved a change of calculation systems and better coverage of the informal sector. It also forecasted national GDP in 2020 at nearly CFA4,400 billion.
Debt
Over the period reviewed (2020), the debt contracted by Lomé from its external lenders increased, mainly due to the pandemic which called for substantial spending. Regardless, the country’s debt level is still far from the 70% standard imposed in the region.
In detail, Togo raised great amounts on the WAMU market, issuing for example the BCEAO recovery bonds.
Regarding budget deficit, it widened, reaching 6.12% in 2020, as expenditures grew by 31% - from about CFA856 billion in 2019 to CFA1,132 billion last year.
No surprise
The situation is not surprising given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on economies.
Last year, sometime after the rebasing, various international experts and multilateral institutions expected the country’s debt to increase, because of the health crisis and the government’s response. The World Bank, for example, had said that overall public debt would reach 71% of the GDP in 2020 (Surely the projection did not take into account the GDP rebasing).
A much-awaited recovery
This year, while optimistic, Togolese authorities remain prudent about the economic outlook. According to them, the economy should grow by 4.8%, as a result of efforts made last year and measures that were introduced more recently to mitigate the pandemic’s effects and restart the economy. Already, available data shows that economic activity and growth are more resilient in 2021 than they were in 2020.
It should be noted that at the end of the first half of 2020, Togo had a public debt of about CFA2,407 billion (a little over $4.2 billion) - a debt labeled in CFA Francs mostly.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Banks postponed loan repayment deadline for nearly 438 businesses and about 1,500 individuals
In Togo, banks have deferred the loan repayment of at least 438 businesses and 1,454 people, in line with the BCEAO’s relief incentive. This was revealed last Thursday by the minister of economy and finance, Sani Yaya. In all, the repayment of CFA28 billion was pushed back to provide more room for businesses and individuals hit by the ongoing health crisis to breathe.
The incentive was introduced on March 21, 2020, as the pandemic was breaking out in the subregion. In its framework, banks were allowed to push back the deadline for loan repayment, for businesses, affected by the health crisis and related counter-measures, that would request an extension. Lenders could give these actors 3 months, renewable once, to pay what they owe. During this period, no interest, fee, or penalty for delayed payment was to be charged.
In exchange, banks could categorize the deferred debts as good debts, without impairing their results, portfolio quality, cost of risk, profitability, and equity.
“The classification of deferred maturities in a specific account in the category of sound loans will also alleviate the fear of banks regarding a potential spread in case of default on the original loans, due to exposures worsening as a result of granting additional facilities to allow debtors to resume activities so they can honor their commitments,” said Kossi Djokoto, a financial analyst at Attijariwafa bank in Togo (BIA).
Regarding new loans granted, banks provided CFA590 billion in 2020, thus making a total of CFA1,306 billion of bank loans poured into the economy. This total amount represents 30% of the rebased GDP - a performance, in absolute terms, that is lauded by minister Yaya.
Fiacre E. Kakpo