At the opening of the RenewPac Summit, the Senegalese President, Macky Sall, paid tribute to his predecessor at the head of the country, Abdoulaye Wade, whom he described as the «father of African liberalism». Me Abdoulaye Wade (97), headed Senegal from 2000 to 2012 following the first alternation in Senegal. In 1974, he created the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) which brought him to power after 26 years of opposition.

Macky Sall, leader of the Alliance for the Republic (Apr), was himself, for ten years, a senior official of this party and a leading figure in the regime of Abdoulaye Wade whose Prime Minister he was after having held various ministerial positions. “He inspired us with the values of liberalism at a time when Marxist ideologies were on the rise in Africa. He dared to row against the current. Myself and many of the personalities who participate in this Summit are his heirs,” said the Senegalese President in tribute to his former mentor, under the warm applause of the room.

The message of (Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo, President of the African Liberal Network)
This summit demonstrates the need for a strong and lasting partnership between Europe and Africa based on mutual respect, shared values and well-understood common interests.”

The Australian exploration company Mako Gold Limited announces this Monday, August 21, 2023 the discovery of a deposit of manganese potentially “of global importance” in Ouangolodougou, in the north of Ivory Coast. According to the company, the grade of the intersected ore is similar to that of several mineral producer/developer groups listed on the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) where it is also present.

This discovery comes as part of its Korhogo project, which it owns 100% and consists of the Ouangolodougou permit, where the drilling was carried out, and the Korhogo Nord permit. The briefing note also mentions the possibility of making more significant discoveries, “given that only 257 metres of the 500 metres drilled have been analysed to date”.

Given the satisfactory level of manganese found and ‘flush to the surface’, the Korhogo project is likely to become one of Côte d’Ivoire’s next manganese mines, said Peter Ledwidge, the company’s managing director.

With this discovery, Mako Gold plans to “enter the race for critical minerals for batteries”. Besides manganese, the company plans, a diamond research program once the manganese ore exploration work is completed.

Côte d’Ivoire currently has four manganese mines in operation, in Bondoukou (east), Guitry (southwest), Kaniasso and Lagnonkaha, in the north of the country. Production rose from just over 207,000 tonnes in 2016 to over 929,000 tonnes in 2022 (up 349%), after reaching 1.18 million tonnes in 2019.

Note that manganese is considered the fourth most used metal in the world after iron, aluminum and copper. It is used in the manufacture of steel for the construction sector (beams, body plates, oil pipes, etc.) and the automotive sector. It is also found in electric vehicle batteries but also in the manufacture of batteries, electronic circuits and even in the food industry.

Source: Sikafinance/ By Jean-Marc Gogbeu

On Friday, July 07, 2023, the regional stock exchange posted a record CFA 2.232 billion in quotations. The value of these transactions amounted to CFAF 2.232 billion compared to CFAF 1.867 billion the day before. Previously, the market recorded transactions of CFAF 1.701 billion on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. In total, during the last three trading sessions, investors have shown a real enthusiasm for the securities of both compartments with an average of 1.933 billion traded value.

At the origin of the strong transactions of the meeting of July 7, 2023, there is a value traded at the level of the bond compartment of FCFA 1.751 billion. The investors’ interest was particularly focused on the TPCI 5.90% 2016-2026 bond with the purchase of 149,671 securities during 9,600 FCFA, for a total value of 1.436 billion FCFA.

The market capitalization of the equity market exceeded the 7500 billion mark, with a realisation of CFAF 7532.519 billion against CFAF 7487.805 billion on 6 July 2023, an increase of CFAF 44.714 billion.

The bond market was also up by 19.695 billion, to 10159.467 billion FCFA compared with 10139.772 billion FCFA the day before. The clues are all improving. Thus, the composite index rose by 0.60% to 202.47 points from 201.27 points the day before.

The BRVM 30 index also rose by 0.65% to 101.63 points from 100.97 points the day before. The biggest increase was recorded by the BRVM Prestige index with 1.38% at 102.37 points compared to 100.98 points the day before.

The Top 5 of the largest price increases are held by ETI Togo (plus 5.88% to 18 FCFA), Total Côte d’Ivoire (plus 4.63% to 2,260 FCFA), Compagnie Ivoirienne d’électricité Côte d’Ivoire (plus 2.33% to 2,200 FCFA), Orange Côte d’Ivoire (plus 0.92% to 9,890 FCFA) and BOA Burkina Faso (plus 0.74% to 6,095 FCFA).

As for the Flop 5 of the largest price declines, it is occupied by the securities BOA Mali (minus 3.57% to 1,350 FCFA), Sucrivoire Côte d’Ivoire (minus 2.80% to 520 FCFA) Oragroup Togo (minus 1.67% to 2,650 FCFA), Vivo Energy Côte d’Ivoire (minus 1.30% to 760 FCFA) and SAFCA Côte d’Ivoire (minus 1.30% to 760 FCFA).