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

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

This is expected to bolster the Ghana cedi and shore up its value against the US dollar.

The funds which will be used to finance purchases of cocoa beans will also boost the country’s balance of payment.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, yesterday confirmed the inflows of the cocoa syndicated loan at a stakeholder meeting with business associations and President Akufo-Addo.

The second tranche of about $340 million, which would be spread over three months will come in between November 2022 and February 2023.

The facility would attract an interest rate of 1.75%.

The Standard Chartered Bank, Coöperatieve Rabobank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), MUFG Bank Ltd, Natixis and Ghana International Bank plc were the Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers for the facility.

The London branch of Bank of China Limited joined the facility as Senior Mandated Lead Arranger, while DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (“BADEA”) joined as Mandated Lead Arrangers.

Ecobank joined as Arranger. The OPEC Fund, United Bank for Africa PLC, Ahli United Bank B.S.C. and Federated Hermes Inc joined as Lead Managers, whilst AfrAsia Bank Limited, Citibank N.A, Absa Bank Ghana Limited and GCB Bank Plc were joined as Managers.

COCOBOD and syndicated loan pogramme

Since the 1992/93 crop season, Ghana Cocoa Board has consistently and successfully, through the pre-export syndicated finance facility, obtained receivables-backed syndicated loan each year from the international money market to finance its cocoa purchases.

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