Sorry Sundancers, there is a second part of the article following the picture of Douala Stock Exchange, that I didn't notice.
Here is the full article translated from french:
Strengthening the financial market in Cameroon, a palliative against the economic crisis
By Idriss Linen - 09/05/2009
Some experts in the business environment in Cameroon suggest a strengthening of the powers of the Douala Stock Exchange
The global economic crisis has revived current issues related to financing of the economies in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular. Recent studies show that, in Cameroon, only 22% of GDP which is the index of overall wealth of a country is for investment. Clearly the amount of money that camerounais reserve for the financing of economic activities is almost four times lower than the amount allocated to acquisition costs. The reality is ENTAILED double bound. The first is the low allocation of public savings and private, which prevents the strengthening of the existence of structures of production or service facilities. The second, which follows from the first subjects the Cameroonian economy constraints to foreign investment so that the international market. In other words, in a crisis like today, the reduction of external sources of investment involves restructuring which often corolaire the best reductions thus increasing unemployment at worst divestments .
Therefore, since a number of years already in Cameroon, experts in the business environment are fighting for the financial market can deploy the full capacity of its resources. This is the case with Jean Pascal Eyebe Mpesse. To this counsel and tax benefits that benefit the economy of Cameroon to strengthen the powers of the Douala stock exchange are many. It can be used as an instrument of corporate finance and the economy. In the sense that we can use essentially the bond offering or selling stock shares of a company, usually on the occasion of an increase in the capital: the SOCAPALM today is an example. As an instrument of state funding and local authorities can proceed with the public bond issue, as was the case of the Cud (Communauté Urbaine de Douala). The operation was a success in a highly indebted poor country, it has helped to lift the Cud 12 billion in a few months despite the limits of this operation. As such, if a loan Camtel launched mandatory where placed its shares on the stock exchange, privatization was never elastic. Already all our foreign infrastructure. The State may validly camerounais advantage of this situation to launch a bond issue for Camtel to avoid long privatization. It would give more chance to Douala stock exchange to have more than one company in its portfolio. It can also create their own companies and explore joint ventures with foreign companies to exploit iron and bauxite Mbalam.
It can also serve to mobilize and secure digital public savings and investment capital in the creation of local companies, government procurement. In the case of the promotion of competitiveness and the healthy competition between enterprises, any company seeking growth and credibility must aspire to be listed. And even the strict criteria for eligibility and selective exchange therefore pushing companies to develop good governance and excellence. The scholarship mainly in Cameroon can be as a technique of privatization of public enterprises and parastatals. For, the ideal placement and advantageous sale of public enterprises and parastatals to be privatized, allows speculation on securities assisting the State to sell at the best price the shares on sale. He noted finally that it could adequately provide an effective guarantee of transparency and financial security in privatization operations, in that it ensures a very high speed in privatization transactions, to avoid conflicts of interest authors thereof, embezzlement or corruption of public officials involved in those operations and hence is also an instrument for the promotion of capitalism or savings, as it opens to the largest number of Investor: Natural or legal shareholding companies.
But in fact, the creation of the Douala Stock Exchange incorporated all of these objectives. Yet it is clear that the government of Cameroon, for various reasons, seem to have put up this institution, more effective fashion than anticipation. Some people argue that advised the benefiting local french investment would be severely stretched in the face of strong capital of Cameroon. Others believe that even if the State stimulates interest in the financial market of Douala, it would have to deploy a lot of strength to combat the informal sector, the main beneficiary of the internal flows of capital, because of the inability of a stock exchange to succeed in its environment.
Cheers. BS
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