
Cocobod signs $1.3 Billion Dollars Trade Finance Facility for the Year 2020/2021 Crop Season
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), in collaboration with a consortium of International Financiers, has signed an agreement that will bring in an amount of One Billion, Three Hundred Million United States Dollars ($1,300,000,000.00) to the Ghanaian Economy.
The Pre-Export Trade Finance Facility has been contracted at a competitive interest rate plus libor of 1.75%.
The signing of the Pre-Export Trade Finance Facility for cocoa purchases for the 2020/2021 crop year took place at a virtual signing ceremony held on Tuesday, September 29th September 2020 in Accra, Ghana.
Since the 1992/93 crop season, COCOBOD has consistently and successfully, through the pre-export Syndicated Finance Facility, obtained a receivables-backed syndicated loan each year from the international money market to finance its cocoa purchases.
A total of 28 institutions, made up of 4 local and 24 international financial institutions have participated in this year’s syndication.
The Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers:
- ABN AMRO BANK NIV
- BANK OF CHINA LIMITED LONDON BRANCH
- COOPERATIVE RABOBANK UA
- DZ BANK AG DEUTSCHE ZENTRAL-ZENOSSENSCHA FTS BANK, FRANKFURT AM MAIN.
- GHANA INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC
- INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL BANK OF CHINA LIMITED, LONDON BRANCH
- MUFG BANK LIMITED
- NATIXIS ix. SOCIETE GENERALE
- STANDARD CHARTED BANK
The four local banks that are participating include: ECOBANK GHANA LIMITED, SOCIETE GENERAL GHANA LIMITED, ABSA GHANA LIMITED AND STANBIC BANK GHANA LIMITED.
The facility, the largest soft commodity deal in sub-Saharan Africa, will be used to finance cocoa purchases and related operational activities for the 2020 crop season.
Source: Ghana Cocoa Board