Sonara to acquire a new headquarters building in Limbe

In a statement issued September 22, the Director General of the National Refining Company (Sonara), Ibrahim Talba Malla, announced that the refinery plans to buy a new headquarters building in Limbe, South West region of the country.

Although the amount of the investment was not revealed, the announcement of the DG of Sonara raises many questions in the business world, both on its opportunity and realization.

According to Cameroon's public authorities and officials from Sonara themselves, this public company is almost in insolvency, due to lack of funds between 2008 and July 2014, because of the consumption subsidy of petroleum products in the country.

According to the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma, when the Cameroon government decided to reduce the subsidy to the consumption of petroleum products by adjusting the pump price from 1 August, Sonara accumulated a loss up to 300 billion CFA francs not reimbursed by the government yet.

Similarly, revealed Mr Tchiroma, at that date the national refinery accumulated an unpaid amount of 550 billion CFA francs from its suppliers.

Besides the outstanding loans from local banks involved in financing the expansion and modernization project of Sonara, stock rise that created fears that the IMF in March will create a significant impact on the balance of the Cameroonian banking sector in general, because of the financial difficulties of the company whose productivity was declining.