Auction of Indexed Treasury Bills January 30, 2024: Financing the Budget Deficit at the Heart of Concerns
The Ministry of Finance recently announced, in a press release dated January 30, 2024, that it had carried out an auction of Indexed Treasury Bonds (BTI) for an amount of 100 billion Congolese Francs (CDF), the equivalent of 37, 8 million USD. This operation, lasting 6 months, aims to help finance the budget deficit of the Congolese Government.
The Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi, expressed his desire to make Indexed Treasury Bills and Indexed Treasury Bonds essential sources of financing to fill the budget deficit. It thus encourages interested economic agents to regularly participate in the auctions of these securities throughout the year.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance would like to thank commercial banks and institutional investors for their active participation in 2023. Despite a difficult economic context marked by pressure on the foreign exchange market, the total amount of public securities issues is is raised to 1,857.0 billion CDF in 2023, compared to 1,279.6 billion CDF in 2022 and 708.8 billion CDF in 2021.
With a total amount of indexed repayments of 1,443.4 billion CDF, the net nominal value of the securities issued reached 413.6 billion Congolese Francs (CDF). This performance testifies to the credibility of public securities issuance operations, which is no longer the subject of doubt. Indeed, compliance with the repayment schedule and the acceptance of these securities as refinancing guarantee have strengthened confidence in these financial instruments.
The Ministry of Finance is therefore confident about the forecasts for the year 2024 and is counting on the continuation of these successes in the issuance of public securities. He remains convinced that Indexed Treasury Bills and Indexed Treasury Bonds will play a major role in financing the country’s budget deficit.
In conclusion, this auction of indexed Treasury Bonds demonstrates the importance given by the Congolese Government to financing its budget deficit through the issuance of public securities. Encouraging data from previous years reinforces optimism that this strategy will continue in the future. Investors and economic agents are therefore invited to actively participate in the upcoming auctions of these securities, thus contributing to the economic development of the country.