In 2026, the Cameroonian government plans to launch a new CFA150 billion bond issue on the Central African Securities Exchange (Bvmac). The exchange is based in Douala. The plan appears in the provisional 2026 calendar for Cameroon’s public securities issuances prepared by the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance.
Alongside Treasury bills and bonds (BTA and OTA) issued on the public securities market managed by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the Cemac central bank, the calendar also includes a Treasury bond (OT) issuance. Such bonds are issued exclusively on the regional financial market through the Bvmac or on international capital markets. Given the relatively modest size of the planned operation, the CFA150 billion issuance is expected to be carried out on the Douala exchange rather than abroad.
At this stage, however, there is no certainty that the planned bond issue will materialize, as it will depend on market conditions. In 2024, the provisional issuance calendar included a planned CFA200 billion bond issue on the Bvmac in April. That operation was ultimately canceled due to market saturation, as multiple issuances by other Cemac governments and institutions pushed interest rates higher.
Cameroon, a major Bvmac issuer
The Cameroonian government instead opted for a CFA260 billion operation combining bond buybacks and new borrowing on the BEAC-managed public securities market, according to a source within the Ministry of Finance. This approach allowed the country to secure fresh financing while extending the maturity of certain near-term obligations, preserving cash for other priorities.
If Cameroon proceeds with the planned 2026 bond issue on the Bvmac, it would mark the country’s eighth operation of this kind. The most recent dates back to 2023. Initially set at CFA200 billion, that issuance was eventually reduced to CFA150 billion due to difficult market conditions. The same environment led Cameroon to introduce, for the first time in the Cemac region, a multi-rate bond structure. The strategy proved effective, as the Treasury ultimately raised CFA176.7 billion after the regional market regulator authorized an overallocation.
Although absent from the unified Cemac financial market since its 2023 issuance, Cameroon remains one of the leading sovereign issuers on the Bvmac. On February 27, 2025, during a presentation to investors in Douala on the government’s annual financing plan, Treasury Director Samuel Tela said the public treasury has raised CFA8646 billion on capital markets since 2010. Of that total, CFA1206.2 billion was mobilized on the Bvmac, making Cameroon the second-largest sovereign issuer on the exchange, behind Gabon.
Brice R. Mbodiam