18, June 2025
BEAC Governor calls for urgent restoration of SONARA 0
Yvon Sana Bangui, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), is urging CEMAC countries to refine their own crude oil. He noted that the six CEMAC nations collectively spend approximately 2 trillion CFA francs annually on imported petroleum products like gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and domestic gas. This spending continues despite five of the six countries, excluding the Central African Republic, being crude oil producers.
Speaking on June 17, 2025, in Yaoundé during “Finance Week,” a platform for financial stakeholders, the BEAC governor argued that building crude oil refineries within CEMAC could significantly reduce or even eliminate these imports. This shift, he emphasized, would help preserve and strengthen the region’s foreign exchange reserves, which are currently strained by the heavy reliance on fuel imports. These reserves consist of foreign currency payments received by states and their economic agents, enabling them to make payments to international partners.
“We have the raw material, and its price trend is downward. Let’s commit to an import-substitution strategy and refine our oil,” Bangui declared. He added, “The cost of road infrastructure awaited by economic operators is very high in our region. To avoid this, we must locally produce bitumen. We must locally produce lubricants. All of this comes from oil. Even fertilizer can be produced from oil.”
The Sonara Refinery Fire and Regional Self-Sufficiency
This isn’t the first time Bangui has advocated for building oil refineries in the CEMAC zone to protect foreign exchange reserves from the impact of imported refined petroleum products. On June 24, 2024, during a press conference following the BEAC Monetary Policy Committee’s second ordinary session, he stated, “In Cameroon, I am calling for the urgent restoration of Sonara—the National Refining Company.”
Cameroon has been importing all its refined petroleum products since a fire destroyed Sonara in May 2019. At the time of the incident, Sonara was refining imported oil, not Cameroonian crude. The rehabilitation of Sonara, estimated at 250 billion CFA francs, was initially scheduled to begin in 2022 but remains pending.
Bangui’s call for Sonara’s rehabilitation echoes his statements made on June 14, 2024, during a visit to the Djermaya refinery in Chad. There, he urged company leaders to increase production to curb imports. “Today, the fact that all CEMAC countries import petroleum products places enormous pressure on our foreign exchange reserves. I issue a solemn call to the authorities and company leaders to do everything necessary to meet national and subregional demand,” he asserted.
Source: Business in Cameroon
3, July 2025
Biya regime plans $1.16 bln international loan in 2026 despite credit downgrade 0
Cameroon plans to secure a “major external loan” of 650 billion CFA francs, approximately $1.16 billion, in 2026, according to an official document. The specifics of the transaction, which requires approval through the national budget law, have not yet been disclosed. It remains unclear whether the financing will come from international banks, multilateral institutions, partner nations, or through a bond issuance on public or private global capital markets.
Preliminary data as of March 31, 2025, shows Cameroon’s external debt stock at 8.56 trillion CFA francs, or about $14.1 billion. This figure notably appears to exclude the $550 million Eurobond arranged in 2024 by UK-based Cygnum Capital and U.S. investment bank Citigroup.
Breaking down the debt profile, 4.32 trillion CFA francs is owed to multilateral financial institutions, 2.88 trillion to bilateral lenders or partner states, and 1.69 trillion constitutes commercial debt. Of the commercial debt, 813.5 billion CFA francs comprises Eurobonds, including the 2024 issuance.
Another venture into international capital markets would not be surprising. However, Fitch Ratings downgraded the country’s sovereign risk rating to a negative outlook in May 2025. During its last Eurobond issue in 2024, Cameroon secured financing at a 9.5% interest rate, highlighting investor concerns about its credit profile. As of now, there has been no official confirmation of ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank, or other multilateral or bilateral lenders regarding this financing package.
Cameroon’s financial flexibility may expand with the anticipated repayment of its first Eurobond, issued in 2015, on November 19, 2025. This could open the door for new market activity. The proposed 2026 loan may, therefore, present an opportunity for investment banks and financial advisors specializing in sovereign debt operations.
According to government estimates, the funds will help bridge a 2026 budget financing gap of 2.12 trillion CFA francs. Should Cameroon opt for another Eurobond, it would mark its fourth such operation since 2015. The stakes are high, especially as investors assess the country’s economic stability in the lead-up to what is expected to be a contentious presidential election year.
Source: Business in Cameroon