Cameroon’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Jumped 7.1% in the Second Half of 2022
July 06, 2023
By Synthia Lateu
Cameroon is positioned as the leading economic power holding foreign exchange reserves in CEMAC
BUEA, July 6, 2023 – Cameroon's foreign exchange reserves have consolidated at 7.1% in the second half of 2022. This represents 2,612.7 billion CFA francs out of an overall value of approximately 5,226 billion CFA francs in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, CEMAC zone.
According to Cameroon's Ministry of Finance, MINFI, the progression comes as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian war and efforts made to repatriate export earnings. The year-on-year result also improved by 18.2%, representing 54.1% of the overall volume of CEMAC reserves.
In the first half of 2023, the foreign exchange reserve in CEMAC increased by 44 per cent. As a result, the currency external coverage rate stood at 74. 2 per cent as of March 31, 2023, compared to 66.7 per cent a year earlier.
“This dynamic is explained by the good performance of economic activities, the effort to repatriate export earnings, the sharp increase in the retrocession of currencies by the primary banks on behalf of their customers in the extractive sector, authorize to hold currencies,” details the CEMAC Central Bank in its report, as reported by Eco Martin.
Cameroon is thus positioned as the leading economic power holding foreign exchange reserves in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa. It is followed by Equatorial Guinea (788.8 billion), Gabon (617.3 billion), and Chad (404.6 billion).
According to data from the Bank of Central African States, BEAC foreign exchange reserves in the CEMAC zone have since the end of 2019 experienced sustained growth. With the new regulation on the exchange, the currencies retroceded to the central bank have almost doubled from 6,201 billion Fcfa in 2019 to 11,946 billion Fcfa in 2022
This progress accelerated further in 2022 with the application of the said regulation to companies in the extractive sector which, in the space of 5 months, repatriated 765 billion CFA francs of foreign currency in this region, representing more
