ĦĦBRAZZAVILLE, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Economic growth rate in the member states of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) is projected to reach approximately 5.8 percent in 2008, according to official sources.
This was announced by the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), according to a statement published in Brazzaville Friday.
"For the year 2008, the CPM has taken note of the consolidation of macro-economic situation within the CEMAC zone with satisfaction," said the regional central bank in a statement.
"With the economic growth projected to hit 5.8 percent, increased budget surplus, an improved current account balance and a foreign currency coverage rate of estimated at almost 100 percent, the situation can be described as satisfactory" said the CPM.
The BEAC Monetary Policy Committee was meeting in the Republic of Congo's capital to discuss the regional economic, monetary and financial outlook for 2008, as well as medium-term forecasts for the 2009-2011 period, according to official sources.
Regarding medium term prospects, the Brazzaville meeting noted that the macroeconomic performance remained heavily dependent on the behavior of the oil sector and major projects in the mining sector, according to the statement.
Created in 1999 as a vehicle for strengthening and deepening sub-regional integration, the CEMAC zone includes countries such as Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.
Meanwhile, a South Korean firm, Eco Cement, has announced plans to invest about 51 billion CFA francs (about 113 million U.S. dollars) to put a cement factory in the Republic of Congo's Bouenza department.
The agreement for the commencement of the project was signed Friday by Eco Cement chief executive officer Park Dong Yool and the country's Industrial Development Minister Emile Mabondzot, according to official sources.
After the singing of the agreement, which was also witnessed by Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba in his capacity of chairman of the project's Steering Committee, the South Korean firm will have to wait for other formalities before it can commence operations
When fully operational, the factory, which is expected to start production by the end of July next year, will produce various types of cement and will have an estimated production capacity of 500 tones per day.
