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First Tranche $600m Cocoa Syndicated Loan Drops

Business & Finance First Tranche 600m Cocoa Syndicated Loan Drops
OCT 2, 2019 LISTEN

The first tranche of $600 million of the cocoa loan syndication has finally hit the Bank of Ghana account.

About $500 million is expected to come in November 2019 and the remaining $200 million should hit the Bank of Ghana’s account in December.

This should mean that by the end of this year the country would realize all the amount COCOBOD signed with 24 banks in Paris France in September.

Background

COCOBOD in September, signed a cocoa loan syndication with some 24 banks in Paris, France to help finance cocoa purchase for the next crop season.

According to COCOBOD, it is targeting to purchase about 850,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans from farmers in the country.

On Tuesday, the government announced an increase in cocoa producer price by more than 8 per cent for the next crop season. A 64-kilo bag would now be sold at GH¢515, while a tone would go for GH¢8,249.

Impact on BOG reserves and the economy

Governor of the Bank of Ghana has indicated that the cocoa loan syndication hit the accounts of the Central Bank could increase its reserves this month to about $9.4 billion and possibly increase to 10 billion dollars before the end of this year.

Some analysts have told JoyBusiness that the development could go a long way to help fast track the cedi’s recovery as well as its stability.

This is because it could convince investors that the Bank of Ghana is in a strong position to step and support the local currency.

Others also suggest it could “ward off” activities of speculators, which the regulator believes had contributed in the past to the cedis’ volatility.

The cocoa sector accounts for 4.5 per cent of GDP and contributes 25 per cent of Ghana’s merchandise export earnings.

---myjoyonline

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