• Cameroon will issue the first 15-year OTA in CEMAC on February 17, 2026.

• The Treasury seeks CFA20 billion to test demand beyond the 10-year norm.

• The country aims to raise over CFA619 billion in Q1 2026.

Cameroon’s Treasury is set to issue a 15-year Treasury bond (OTA) on Feb. 17 on the regional public securities market operated by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). The transaction appears in the government’s first-quarter 2026 issuance calendar, recently released by the BEAC.

The move goes beyond routine financing. It will mark the first 15-year OTA ever issued in the CEMAC zone since the regional public securities market was launched in December 2011. Through this operation, Cameroon’s Treasury is testing the market’s ability to absorb longer-dated bonds beyond the 10-year ceiling that has so far defined Treasury issuances in the region.

The test is significant because the most heavily subscribed OTAs on this market typically have maturities of no more than five years, according to a regular participant. That investor preference for shorter tenors may explain the relatively modest size of the 15-year tranche, set at CFA20 billion (around $36.2 million).

By comparison, the issuance calendar includes another OTA scheduled for February 10, 2026, with a maturity of between one and five years and a target of CFA250 billion. This reflects stronger confidence in shorter maturities.

A large share of the first-quarter funding plan will also rely on Treasury bills (BTA), which carry maturities of up to 52 weeks and are generally used to manage short-term liquidity pressures. OTAs, by contrast, have longer maturities — typically 10 years and more — and are usually intended to finance investment projects.

According to the BEAC calendar, Cameroon’s Treasury aims to raise just over CFA619 billion on the regional money market in the first quarter of 2026, including around CFA300 billion through OTAs and slightly more than CFA319 billion through BTAs.

Brice R. Mbodiam, Business in Cameroon