Cameroon to Sell $425 Million in First-Ever T-Bill Auction, Minister Says
Cameroon plans to sell 200 billion CFA francs ($425 million) of government debt in its first-ever auction of Treasury bills to help finance energy projects, Finance Minister Essimi Menye said.
The central African nation will sell the securities within 30 to 45 days from now, Menye said in an interview today in the capital, Yaounde. He didn’t provide details on interest rates or the maturities.
Afriland First Bank Group, a lender in the country, pledged to buy some of the securities and will help the government’s Treasury and Financial Cooperation Department set up a debt- management framework, General Manager Alamine Ousmane Mey said in an interview today. Citigroup Inc.’s local unit and Societe Generale de Banque au Cameroun, a subsidiary of Societe Generale SA, will also buy debt and assist the government, he said.
The funds will be used to help build the Lom Pangar dam in the east of the country that will feed a hydropower plant. Proceeds will also be used for the Kribi thermal gas plant.
Cameroon established the legal framework for issuing Treasury bills and bonds in 2007, according to the African Development Bank.
