All things being equal, the first tranche of the $1.13 billion cocoa syndicated loan will arrive in the Bank of Ghana account tomorrow, October 26, 2022.

Joy Business sources at the Ministry of Finance say about $790 million is expected to come from the consortium of banks.

This should strengthen the Ghana cedi and strengthen its value against the US dollar.

The funds that will be used to finance the purchase of cocoa beans will also help boost the country’s balance of payments.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta confirmed the syndicated cocoa loan inflows yesterday during a stakeholder meeting with trade associations and President Akufo-Addo.

The second tranche of approximately $340 million, which would be spread over three months, will take place between November 2022 and February 2023.

The facility would attract an interest rate of 1.75%.

Standard Chartered Bank, Coöperatieve Rabobank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), MUFG Bank Ltd, Natixis and Ghana International Bank plc were the primary arrangers on the facility.

The London branch of Bank of China Limited joined the facility as lead arranger, while DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (“BADEA ”) have joined the establishment as mandated lead arrangers.

Ecobank joined as arranger. The OPEC Fund, United Bank for Africa PLC, Ahli United Bank BSC and Federated Hermes Inc joined as lead managers, while AfrAsia Bank Limited, Citibank NA, Absa Bank Ghana Limited and GCB Bank Plc were joined as managers.

COCOBOD and syndicated la program

Since the 1992/93 crop year, the Ghana Cocoa Board has consistently and successfully secured, through the Syndicated Pre-Export Finance Facility, an annual syndicated loan backed by international money market assets to finance its purchases. of cocoa.

The facility, which is the largest commodity transaction in sub-Saharan Africa, has helped the regulator

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