Saudi Arabia Supports Companies to Enter Cameroon, Togo Markets

Douala port is one of the largest ports of Cameroon, which has excellent investment opportunities in infrastructure (Getty Images)
Douala port is one of the largest ports of Cameroon, which has excellent investment opportunities in infrastructure (Getty Images)
TT

Saudi Arabia Supports Companies to Enter Cameroon, Togo Markets

Douala port is one of the largest ports of Cameroon, which has excellent investment opportunities in infrastructure (Getty Images)
Douala port is one of the largest ports of Cameroon, which has excellent investment opportunities in infrastructure (Getty Images)

The Saudi Ministry of Investment is currently working on listing all national companies interested in investing in Cameroon and Togo as part of its support for Saudi investment abroad and addressing its challenges with the relevant authorities.

Several Saudi government agencies aim to stimulate and support the private sector to enter foreign projects by presenting available investment opportunities and coordinating with relevant agencies to address the challenges.

The Ministry revealed several opportunities in Cameroon and Togo, west of Africa.

The countries have opportunities in port infrastructure, electricity, water networks, sanitation, communications, tourism, agriculture, and phosphates, said the Ministry, asking those interested to determine suitable projects.

According to the data on investment opportunities available in the two republics, of which Asharq Al-Awsat reviewed a copy, the projects implemented in the Douala port include infrastructure for land sites and communications, water, electricity, and various urban facilities.

Togo's legal framework on public-private partnership revealed that project design and scale were optimized to help anticipate risks associated with it and enable public debt management.

The Saudi government provides all incentives and support to national companies and institutions to develop their business locally and internationally.

It will also address the local private sector to participate in international conferences and exhibitions to present its services and explore available investment opportunities.

In 2019, Saudi Arabia established the General Authority for Foreign Trade (GAFT) to promote the Kingdom's international trade gains and defend its interests in foreign trade, contributing to developing its national economy.​

GAFT is concerned with all tasks related to developing policies and strategies of foreign trade in coordination and alignment with the public and private sectors, in addition to several tasks, including the supervision of commercial attachés abroad and joint Saudi-foreign business council.

GAFT is also concerned with international trade relations, dispute settlement, and negotiations on free trade agreements and bilateral, regional, and international agreements.

It aims to protect the Kingdom's industry from harmful practices in international trade by implementing trade remedies procedures stated in World Trade Organization agreements.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Fund for Development aims to involve the private sector in projects in developing countries by empowering local capabilities and increasing its ability to export its services and products to foreign markets.

Vision 2030 came with ambitious aspirations and targets to develop local content and export national services and products abroad, which requires complementary work between various government agencies and partners from the private sector.



China Flags More Policy Measures to Bolster Yuan

 People shop around for prosperity decorations for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, at a New Year Bazaar in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
People shop around for prosperity decorations for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, at a New Year Bazaar in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
TT

China Flags More Policy Measures to Bolster Yuan

 People shop around for prosperity decorations for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, at a New Year Bazaar in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
People shop around for prosperity decorations for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, at a New Year Bazaar in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)

China announced more tools to support its weak currency on Monday, unveiling plans to park more dollars in Hong Kong to bolster the yuan and to improve capital flows by allowing companies to borrow more overseas.

A dominant dollar, sliding Chinese bond yields and the threat of higher trade barriers when Donald Trump begins his US presidency next week have left the yuan wallowing around 16-month lows, spurring the central bank into action.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has tried other means to arrest the sliding yuan since late last year, including warnings against speculative moves and efforts to shore up yields.

On Monday, authorities warned again against speculating against the yuan. The PBOC raised the limits for offshore borrowings by companies, ostensibly to allow more foreign exchange to flow in.

PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng meanwhile told the Asia Financial Forum in Hong Kong that the central bank will substantially increase the proportion of China's foreign exchange reserves in Hong Kong, without providing details.

China's foreign reserves stood at around $3.2 trillion at the end of December. Not much is known about where the reserves are invested.

"Today's comments from the PBOC indicate that currency stability remains an important priority for the central bank, despite the market often discussing the possibility of intentional devaluation to offset tariffs," said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

"Increasing China's foreign reserves will give more ammunition to defend the currency if the market situation eventually necessitates it."

China's onshore yuan traded at 7.3318 per dollar as of 0450 GMT on Monday, not far from a 16-month low of 7.3328 hit on Friday.

It has lost more than 3% to the dollar since the US election in early November, on worries that Trump's threats of fresh trade tariffs will heap more pressure on the struggling Chinese economy.

The central bank has been setting its official midpoint guidance on the firmer side of market projections since mid-November, which analysts say is a sign of unease over the yuan's decline.

Monday's announcements underscore the PBOC's challenges and its juggling act as it seeks to revive economic growth by keeping cash conditions easy, while also trying to douse a runaway bond rally and simultaneously stabilize the currency amid political and economic uncertainty.

It has in recent days unveiled other measures. In efforts to prevent yields from falling too much and to control circulation of yuan offshore, it said it is suspending treasury bond purchases but plans to issue huge amounts of bills in Hong Kong.

Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis, said while China's onshore market has a much better pool of yuan deposits, Hong Kong plays a "significant role with higher turnover driven by FX swaps and spot transactions."

"This means that Hong Kong can be a venue for supporting the yuan through trading activities and potential investments."

Data on Monday showed China's exports gained momentum in December, with imports also showing recovery, although the export spike at the year-end was in part fueled by factories rushing inventory overseas as they braced for increased trade risks under a Trump presidency.