Business

Listed on the Paris stock exchange, Société anonyme des Brasseries du Cameroun made a profit of 24.7 billion FCFA for the period ending December 31, 2014. This was announced by the brewing company in a release by the company’s board.

Following this performance which is slightly lower than the 26.9 billion FCFA made in 2013, Cameroon’s leading beer company will be distributing 20 billion FCFA in dividends to its shareholders. This amounts to the 3,500 FCFA gross per share. Shareholders residing in France should receive 2,975 FCFA net, compared to 2,923 FCFA for shareholders living outside of France.

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Ngwa Bertrand

11.Jun.2015

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European Council President Donald Tusk has warned Greece to stop what he called “gambling” and make efforts to reach a deal with its international creditors on the country’s huge debt. “There is no more time for gambling. In the coming days I am afraid that in fact someone says the game is over,” Tusk said Thursday in a press conference following an EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit, which was mostly overshadowed by the row over Greece’s bailout program.

“We need decisions not negotiations now. It is my opinion that the Greek government has to be, I think, a little bit more realistic,” added Tusk, who met Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Brussels on Wednesday. The former Polish premier further described as “crucial” the June 18 meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg, where a reforms-for-cash accord with Athens could emerge, saying the upcoming talks “should be deciscive.” “We have no more time, I am absolutely sure,” he insisted.

 

The development came as Greek anti-austerity activists occupied the Finance Ministry building in the capital Athens on Thursday to protest against the new austerity measures required by the country’s international creditors to grant Greece a bailout loan. The protesters took down the European Union flag waving over the building and put up a banner with portraits of Tsipras alongside his predecessors, George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras, reading “We have bled enough, we have paid enough.”

Tsipras is due to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels to discuss a possible bailout deal aimed at averting Greece’s bankruptcy. The anti-austerity Syriza party of the premier won Greek elections in January pledging to ease the hardships caused by the austerity measures imposed on Athens under two international bailouts since 2010 Meanwhile, the country’s creditors – the European Union and the International Monetary Fund -- have refused to give Athens the final 7.2 billion euros remaining of the bailout funds promised to Greece until Greek authorities implement the unpopular reforms they demand. If Greece fails to receive the funds, it will be unable to cover its foreign debts and forced out of the euro bloc.

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Ngwa Bertrand

11.Jun.2015

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The National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) has announced an increase in gas production. In a statement made public on Tuesday the 2^nd of June, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SNH announced the increase of 4.77% of gas production in Cameroon.

Gas production was up by 4.77% compared to April 30, 2014. It is presently at 4 548.60 million cubic feet with 3 801.10 million coming from the Sanaga South field offshore in Kribi, and 747 50 million from the Logbaba field in Douala.

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Ngwa Bertrand

04.Jun.2015

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The first in Cameroon to receive a 3G licence, Nexttel has announced that it has nabbed an estimated 2 million customers in only eight months after launching in September 2014.

The Viettel telecom company has just launched a raffle to “celebrate” its two million subscribers to win a total of 30 million FCFA in prizes.

Taking into account the number of subscribers announced by Nexttel, Cameroon now has approximately 18.3 million mobile subscribers out of a population of 20 million. At the end of 2014, MTN Cameroon, the market leader, announced a customer base of 10.1 million subscribers compared to 6.2 million for Orange Cameroon.

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Ngwa Bertrand

02.Jun.2015

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They are currently grounded at the Douala International Airport waiting for administrative procedures to be completed.

The skies appear not to be clear yet for Cameroon’s national carrier, Camair-Co. The company is yet to embrace efficiency and profitability as recommended by the Minister of Transport during the handover of keys of the newly-acquired MA60 aircraft to the company. Following the ceremony at the Nsimalen International Airport on April 7, 2015, the two aircraft have since remained grounded.

In effect, the two MA60 planes assembled in China by the AVIC International Group with bills footed by the Cameroonian government are at the Douala International Airport pending administrative procedures before takeoff of operations. Information from the Ministry of Transport indicates that the planes are awaiting registration. The process is ongoing, sources say. The Ministry of Transport, it was revealed, has completed all its procedures. It was also disclosed that the ministry only flew the aircraft into Cameroon since the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority could not do it as they were registered under the military. The Ministry of Finance is expected to officially cede the aircraft to Camair-Co which will then apply to the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) for registration numbers.

It is a give-and-take process, with Camair-Co expected to furnish documents alongside an application form to CCAA wherein the former will evaluate and issue certificates acknowledging the air-worthiness of the aircraft before they go operational. Expected for the issuance of the certificates to the two MA60 planes are their flight and maintenance manuals, amongst others. The timeframe for the process is however not determined, but experts say the faster both parties act, the better Camair-Co’s operations. The two aircraft, like any other unused planes, are undergoing few maintenance checks at the Douala International Airport to ensure that they do not degrade.

The MA60 planes, when operational, will change the face of Camair-Co, Cameroon Tribune was told. The aircraft will concentrate on regional and domestic routes, with focus on destinations like Douala, Garoua, Maroua and Yaounde. Information garnered at the Ministry of Transport reveals that the aircraft will also serve the country’s local airports at Bafut in Bamenda, Bafoussam, Bertoua, Ngaoundere and Tiko. The intention is to facilitate the internal movement of Cameroonians as well as from one country to the other.

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Ngwa Bertrand

26.May.2015

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A major fuel strike which left domestic airlines grounded, gas stations dry, and banks closing early has been resolved.  

Fuel wholesalers had stopped distributing petroleum, claiming the government owed them $1 billion. Government officials said the wholesalers had been fully paid. 

Peter Akpatason, recent president of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and now a lawmaker, said the fuel distributors felt pressured to end their strike. 

He said that if they didn’t, Nigerians would hold them responsible for any collapse of the economy.

“One of the reasons is that, in Nigeria, we’ve never had it this bad.  The effect on the economy is so bad that they are feeling, if they don’t do this now, Nigerians may take up arms against them.  So, I think because of that awkward position that they find themselves in, they decided to shift ground,” he said.

Akpatason said no deal was offered except the understanding that the issue of subsidies may be looked into and that where a genuine case of outstanding non-payment is discovered such payment should be made subject to due process and proper verification.

He said the genesis of Nigeria’s fuel crisis lies in the country’s neglected oil refineries coupled with a badly managed national oil company due to bureaucracy and lack of transparency.

“As a result of that, the four refineries in Nigeria are not producing up to maximum capacity.  Therefore, we depend on importation of petroleum products,” he said.

The end of the fuel crisis comes days before Friday’s inauguration of Nigeria’s president-elect Muhammadu Buhari.  Akpatason, a member of Buhari’s All Progressives Congress party (APC), said the current fuel crisis is politically motivated.

“A lot of Nigerians believe that the strike itself was politically motivated both by elements in the outgoing government, who own some of these companies by proxy, as well as some of their associates who believe that, now that a transparent president is coming in, the unjustified subsidies will not be paid and so they have put the government under severe pressure so that it would be hoodwinked into paying the subsidies whether there’s justification or not,” Akpatason said.

He said one way out of the country’s fuel nightmare is for Nigerians to come up with a homegrown initiative to fix its four refineries and build new ones that work.

Akpatason called on wealthy Nigerians who, he said, are investing their money outside of Nigeria to invest at home.

“The global investors are not interested in building refineries because there’s excess capacity in the Western world.  They produce more than they can consume so they need a market to sell their product.  So, they will not bring their money to come and build refineries in Africa, or in Nigeria. Rather, they would want to continue to produce over there and sell to us,” Akpatason said.

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Ngwa Bertrand

26.May.2015

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