PTDS FMI: “the regional market the turning point”, according to economist Amath Ndiaye

A few days after the launch of the Senegal Debt Treatment Plan (PTDS) and the conclusion of a technical agreement with the IMF, the regional financial market has just sent a first encouraging signal. According to Professor Amath Ndiaye, “the auction on September 11, 2026 shows not only that Senegal has exceeded its mobilization objective, but above all that investors are massively returning to maturities of three and five years. A notable development after several months of tension.”

Continuing, he indicates in his column that September 1, 2026, undoubtedly marks a turning point in Senegal’s economic and financial strategy. “The announced choice to maintain, at this stage, the debt denominated in FCFA outside the scope of the PTDS also constitutes an important signal addressed to the banks and investors of the UMOA. It reduces the immediate risk of a restructuring of securities held on the regional market and thus contributes to preserving the Union’s financial system,” he believes.

In the same vein, he indicates that the auction of September 11, 2026 provides a first indicator of the market reaction. Indeed, the economist, the Treasury was looking for 100 billion FCFA. Investors presented approximately 109.02 billion FCFA in bids, of which 101.34 billion were accepted. Senegal therefore slightly exceeds its objective.
But the real change appears in the structure of subscriptions, explains Professor Amath Ndiaye. “On the 364-day BAT, 31.46 billion FCFA were offered and 25.79 billion retained, for a weighted average yield of 7.87%. On the three-year OAT, investors offered 47.37 billion, of which 45.36 billion were retained, with a yield of 7.75%. Finally, five-year OATs collected 30.19 billion FCFA, almost entirely retained, with a yield of 7.89%. In total, nearly 75% of the 101.34 billion mobilized were over maturities of three and five years,” he explains.

According to him, investors are no longer content with lending to Senegal in the very short term: they are once again agreeing to make massive commitments in the medium term. According to him, the announcement of the PTDS brings a prospect of reducing debt vulnerabilities. “The agreement with the IMF provides a more credible macroeconomic framework. The choice to protect the debt in FCFA reassures holders of regional securities. Finally, the prospect of new concessional financing potentially reduces Senegal’s future dependence on costly regional emissions,” he adds.

Therefore, he believes that we can reasonably speak of an initial favorable reception from the regional market at the PTDS-IMF turning point, while remaining cautious about the causal link: a single auction is not enough to demonstrate that this improvement results exclusively from these announcements.

Oumar FEDIOR