(Ecofin Agency) - The Malian economy is facing several challenges aggravated by sanctions from regional institutions and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis. To boost its resilience the government is multiplying initiatives.

The Malian economy has been more resilient in 2022, with positive outlooks for the coming years, Finance Minister Alousseni Sanou (photo) said last Thursday while presenting the indicative timetable of the country’s 2023  public securities issuance plan.

According to the official, in 2022, growth was around 3.7% in Mali, up  0.6 and 4.9 points respectively from 2021 and 2020. Inflation also averaged 6 percent while the budget deficit steadied at 4.7 percent as it was in 2021, 0.8 points lower than in 2020, he said. In addition, unemployment was 6.5%, among the best in the sub-region, he commented.  

Praising investors’ contribution in 2022, he explained that thanks to their support on the sub-regional bond market, Mali raised close to CFAF786 billion (around $1.2 billion) “to cover its cash flow requirements and finance the structural investments that are essential to Mali's economic growth and development.”

This month, rating agency Bloomfield attributed the A3 with stable outlooks rating for the country’s short-term debt and the BBB with a stable outlook for its long-term debt. For Finance Minister Alousseni Sanou the ratings show that despite the multidimensional crisis faced by Mali, the foundations of its economy are still sound. He, therefore, invited investors to support the country with “adequate financing” so that it can address its needs to achieve sustainable growth.

This year, the government plans to raise $2.2 billion on the regional bond market. The presentation comes after two failed issuance operations (September 21 and November 2, 2022) During the issuance operation of November 2, 2022, it raised just $33.9 million out of the $60 million it was sourcing.

Jean-Marc Gogbeu