Vista Bank looks to invest in Togo, Vista’s boss tells President Gnassingbe in Washington

Economic governance

Tuesday, 20 December 2022 14:14

Vista Bank looks to invest in Togo, Vista’s boss tells President Gnassingbe in Washington

(Togo First) - President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo met with Simon Tiemtoré last week. The latter is the CEO of Lilium Capital, an investment group that owns the Vista banking group. Last week, the two men met in Washington on the sidelines of the second Africa-US Leadership Summit.

Tiemtoré, an American-Burkinabe financier, expressed ambitions to enter the Togolese market during the meeting. “Togo is well-known as a financial hub. We are especially attracted to it, due to its financial achievements. Hence, we must be present there as investors,” the CEO declared after the meeting. “We have shown President Faure Gnassingbe the growth strategy of our banking group, Vista, and our investment group, Lilium Capital, towards the effective consolidation of the ties between the US and Africa,” he added.

The declaration comes as Vista Group, according to some sources contacted by Togo First, could take over Oragroup, a pan-African banking group based in Lome and present in more than 12 countries. At present, Vista Bank is in Guinea, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, and Burkina Faso. The project, our sources indicated, is at an advanced stage.

Meanwhile, Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a key shareholder in Oragroup remains prudent. Indeed, in November 2020, ECP’s move to sell part of its shares in the pan-African banking group to the Social Welfare Institute – General State Pension Fund (IPS-CGRAE) of Ivory Coast was blocked by WAEMU’s banking regulator. Since then, ECP had been looking to exit Oragroup’s shareholding, alongside its European institutional partners (Proparco, the German Investment Corporation–DEG, and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries–BIO). It is worth noting that ECP’s blocked attempt to exit Oragroup took place after the group’s introduction on the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) in April 2019, representing 20% of its capital.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.