[ad_1]
Business news for Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Source: 3 News
2020-09-30
Chairman of the Board of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Hackman Owusu-Agyeman
The Chairman of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, has stated that a change in attitude is necessary to grow Ghana’s banks and allow them to participate in syndication.
He said Ghanaians’ savings culture needs to improve, as this is one way that banks can grow.
Owusu-Agyeman said this when COCOBOD signed an agreement for a syndicated line of credit of US $ 1.3 billion for the 2020/2021 cocoa harvest season on Tuesday, September 29.
“We hope that all banks in Ghana can play a role in syndication. That will mean that we will have to change our custom in Ghana. “We have to learn to save, we have to learn to keep the banks running in a way that doesn’t exploit anyone,” he said.
The executive director of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has justified why they requested a syndicated loan of 1.3 billion dollars.
Parliament approved a $ 1.3 billion loan from a consortium of banks and financial institutions to finance the purchase of cocoa for the 2020/21 harvest season by the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod).
The loan is expected to be used to purchase some 900,000 metric tons of cocoa beans from farmers through Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), as well as to finance other Board operations for the cocoa season.
Joseph Boahen Aidoo told reporters in Accra after the signing ceremony that took place on Tuesday, September 29, that COCOBOD considered the country’s cultivation prospects to reach that amount.
“When you seek syndication, you don’t just take the money. You have to sit down and then look at your crop prospects to see if your crop prospects can match the amount you are requesting, ”he said.
“Let me take this opportunity to thank our trusted funding institutions for their continued confidence in the operations of the Ghanaian cocoa industry, culminating in their continued willingness to pool resources for our annual syndications,” he said.
“We have also restored this trust by ensuring that we never defaulted on loans since the 1992/1993 harvest season, when the first was signed. In fact, on several occasions, the loan was canceled ahead of schedule. The 2019/2020 syndicated loan, for example, was paid two months ahead of schedule, ”he said.
A total of 28 institutions, made up of 4 local and 24 international financial institutions participated in this year’s syndication. This was despite speculation and media reports in June that COCOBOD’s international financial partners were reluctant to increase the credit line due to the perceived risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Aidoo said that “they were just not accurate.” COCOBOD was at the time, he said, negotiating the terms of the proposals with its financial partners and had projected that the terms will be finalized and the agreement will be signed in September.
The main organizers of the $ 1.3 billion syndicated credit facility include ABN AMRO Bank NIV, Bank Of China Limited London Branch, Cooperative Rabobank UA and DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Zenossenscha FTS Bank, Frankfurt AM Main.
The others are Ghana International Bank PLC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited – London Branch, MUFG Bank Limited, NATIXIS, Societe Generale and Standard Charted Bank.
The four participating local banks are Ecobank Ghana Limited, Societe General Ghana Limited, ABSA Ghana Limited and Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited.
Send your news to
and features for
. Chat with us through WhatsApp at +233 55 2699 625.
