Projected growth down for 2010

A bad start for the New Year: Senegal’s economic growth projection for 2010 was lowered by government analysts. Senegal should achieve 3.4 percent economic growth in 2010, down from an earlier official forecast of 4.6 percent, according to the DPEE.

The agency also revised down slightly its 2009 growth target to 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent, after the global economic slowdown hit demand for exports, along with remittances from abroad and foreign direct investment.

"In 2010, growth is projected at 3.4 percent on the assumption of a continued relatively high level of prices for oil products, and the primary sector holding up well thanks to strength in the agricultural sector," DPEE said in a statement. The global slowdown has been worse than expected for Senegal, according to its officials.

Consumer prices, which DPEE estimated dipped 0.4 percent during the course of 2009, should head upwards again in 2010 with inflation of 2.2 percent.

Senegal's first sale of public bonds.

With its fiscal affairs improved by government belt-tightening, Senegal will offer $200 million of five-year bonds yielding about 8.75 percent to finance road building in the West African nation, its first international bond offering. That report is from Bloomberg, which got the news from investors approached to buy the securities.

The relatively small offering is reportedly arranged by Citigroup Inc. With a rally of emerging-market debt since the financial collapse of September 2008, the dollar-denominated debt of developing nations included in JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI+ Index is trading at 6.595 percent.

Senegal's $13.6 billion economy is rated B+ by Standard & Poor’s, four levels below investment grade.

Did Dakar help evacuate Camara?

The Times of India reported that wounded Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, head of the military junta ruling neighboring Guinea, was evacuated by Senegalese aircraft. Other news reports have filled in some details of the assasination attempt on Camara. Apparently the chief of his presidential guard insisted on the release of his troops, jailed by Camara as a result of the September massacre of democracy protesters in Conakry. He shot Camara, according to current report, when the matter got heated between them... It gets personal in Guinea.