CAMTEL to be assessed for credit risk by Bloomfield

Telecom giants CAMTEL could become the first Cameroonian public company to go on the national financial market or sub-regional research capital for its continued investments that never fail.

According to a report from market analysis Bloomfield Investment Corporation, the public operator is on the list of companies being rated by the Pan-African agency specializing in the evaluation credit risk of companies and institutions, headquartered in Abidjan, but recently opened an office in Douala.

CAMTEL, whose goal is to bring fibre to households, businesses and institutions through a current broadband project, did not put an end to its ambition to expand into mobile.

But many big projects in the pipeline require substantial financial resources that are not always available.

We remember that CAMTEL, along with the Autonomous Port of Douala (PAD), Cameroon Oil Storage Company (SCDP ) and the Cameroon Water Utilities (CAMWATER ), was one of four Cameroonian public enterprises to have been invited an information workshop on the importance of credit ratings in the search for capital, by the Ministry of Finance, in December 2013.

This meeting was aimed at encouraging those who were chosen on the basis of the “attractiveness” of their business to use credit ratings from dedicated agencies to assess their credit risk in order to raise capital to help them achieve their investment projects.

This desire to see these public companies be subject to credit rating stems from the desire of the State of Cameroon gradually to put an end to its assistantship management policy of its portfolio companies.

A policy based on subsidies who are increasingly burdensome for the public purse, as well as by guarantee of the credit contracted by public companies "poor performance" in the opinion of the International Monetary Fund.

To recall, Bloomfield already assigned companies such as Nestlé Côte d'Ivoire and the Port of Abidjan a rating of "BBB +", while Shelter Afrique (bank) and SODECI (distribution of drinking water in Côte d'Ivoire) escaped with an "A".