The first repayment of the US$1.8 billion cocoa syndicated loan will be made this month, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, has said.
The first tranche of the repayment, valued at US$285 million, is ready for transfer to the group of 25 banks that raised the funds for the board, Dr Opuni added.
He explained that the money would be repaid in seven instalments over a seven-month period.
The CEO said that when management of COCOBOD and officials of GZ Bank, one of the contributors of the loan, visited some cocoa communities in the Eastern Region.
The arrangement means that the board would finish paying up the loan by August this year, two months into the end of the 2015/2016 cocoa season.
The COCOBOD last year secured a loan of US$1.8 billion from a consortium of 25 international banks to help purchase 900,000 tonnes of the beans in the ongoing season.
The Standard Chartered Bank was the lead arranger for the facility, which was supported by Barclays Bank Plc, Commerzbank, Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank AG, Natixis, Standard Bank Group of South Africa and the Sumitomo-Mitsui Banking Corporation.
“Per the arrangement we had with the banks, the money will be paid into a consolidated account for it to be disbursed among the 25 contributing banks,” the COCOBOD CEO said.
The Senior Vice-President and Head of Structured Trade and Commodity Finance of GZ Bank, Mrs Dagmer Werner, said COCOBOD had a very impressive record in the repayment of loans.
She said her outfit had been working with COCOBOD for over 20 years and testified that the board had never defaulted in repaying any loan.
Commenting on the reason for their visit, Mrs Werner said the bank was not just interested in giving out loans but was also concerned with how the money was being used to support the cocoa sector.
She said the bank was pleased to know the money was contributing to the cocoa industry and the cocoa communities.
She also pledged the bank’s commitment to COCOBOD in future endeavours and said she hoped that their relationship would be strengthened.
The COCOBOD CEO also commended GZ Bank for its continuous contribution to the board’s loan syndication programme, which, he said, signified their commitment to the progress of the sector.
He assured the bank and its partners that the money would be used for the intended purpose, including helping to provide value for cocoa farmers.
<<Print>>