Considering the reduction in oil prices, which concerns five of the six CEMAC countries which produce oil (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Chad; Central African Republic does not produce oil), the Central African States Bank (BEAC) has just raised the financing ceiling for member States.

This was revealed after the first session of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee for 2015.

The commercial banks for these countries can obtain more financial resources from the central bank if the need arises for liquidity to redistribute in the form of bank loans to individuals or companies.

Cameroonian banks can now access up to 100 billion FCFA instead of the previous 60 billion FCFA.

The same goes for Gabon and Chad. The refinancing ceiling for Equatorial Guinea has been raised from 60 billion FCFA to 120 billion FCFA while Gabon’s was increased from 30 billion FCFA to 40 billion FCFA. The Central African Republic’s refinancing ceiling is now set at 15 billion FCFA, according to reliable sources.

With this optimism, the BEAC is projecting an overall growth rate of 4.2% for the CEMAC zone, instead of 2014’s 4.4%. Inflation is also expected to decline to 2.8% from last year’s 3.2%.