• Governments plan to raise CFA3,908.5 billion on the BEAC public securities market

• The total is down from CFA5,272.8 billion mobilized between January and October 2025

• Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo account for the bulk of planned issuance

Member states of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa plan to raise a combined CFA3,908.5 billion, or nearly $7 billion, on the regional public securities market operated by the Bank of Central African States in 2026, according to countries’ provisional issuance programs.

The funds are intended to finance national budgets and support development policies across the zone. The projected amount represents a decline compared with the CFA5,272.8 billion raised between January and October 2025, according to a report published by the BEAC in December.

Cameroon leads planned issuance

As the region’s largest economy, Cameroon is set to remain the leading issuer in 2026. The country plans to raise CFA1,165 billion, including CFA765 billion in Treasury bills (BTA) and CFA400 billion in Treasury bonds (OTA).

Gabon follows closely with a planned issuance program of CFA1,048 billion, comprising CFA566 billion in BTA and CFA480 billion in OTA. Gabon’s schedule stands out for its regular issuance pattern throughout the year. Congo, for its part, aims to raise CFA690 billion, split between CFA285 billion in BTA and CFA405 billion in OTA.

Chad restructures its debt, Equatorial Guinea favors short maturities

Chad plans to issue CFA520 billion in 2026, mainly through OTA with maturities of two and three years, as part of efforts to better structure its debt over the medium term.

By contrast, Equatorial Guinea is adopting a strategy focused on short-term financing, with planned issuance totaling CFA419 billion in 2026. Its program relies almost entirely on 52-week Treasury bills, with 20 operations of this maturity scheduled over the year.

Central African Republic posts the smallest program

With a total program of CFA66.5 billion, the Central African Republic has the smallest issuance volume in the zone. Down from the CFA95 billion planned for 2025 on the BEAC market, the 2026 issuances will consist exclusively of Treasury bonds with maturities ranging from two to seven years. Despite modest amounts, the strategy is aimed at financing medium- and long-term projects to support economic recovery and improve living conditions, as the country gradually emerges from prolonged security and socio-economic crises.

These projections come amid a more restrictive monetary environment, following the BEAC’s decision to tighten access to credit to curb the erosion of foreign exchange reserves. The move reflects a return to a restrictive monetary stance in place since late 2021. A few months earlier, in March 2025, the central bank had begun easing policy by cutting its key interest rates for the first time in three years, in a bid to stimulate bank lending and support growth across the subregion.

Sandrine Gaingne