The initial portion of the Cocoa Syndicated Loan has been successfully credited to the account of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), with approximately $541 million arriving on December 22, 2023.

This constitutes a segment of the total $800 million loan, and the subsequent tranche of around $200 million is scheduled for transfer to the Central Bank's account in January 2024, a myjoyonline.com report stated.

In November 2023, Parliament granted approval for the Trade Facility Agreement associated with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), following the Finance Committee's recommendation.

This approval empowered COCOBOD to finalise necessary paperwork with participating banks. As outlined in the terms presented to lawmakers, COCOBOD will incur an interest rate of nearly 8%, inclusive of the one-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), currently around 5.3%, along with a margin of 2.65%.

The procedure involves the BoG receiving the dollars and subsequently transferring the equivalent in cedis to COCOBOD.

The allocated funds are anticipated to support the procurement of cocoa beans from farmers through licensed buying companies for the 2023/2024 crop season.

The immediate consequence of these financial inflows is expected to bolster the reserves of the Bank of Ghana, potentially enhancing its capacity to uphold the strength of the cedi.

The news of COCOBOD finalising the agreement with various banks has already contributed to stabilizing the cedi.

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NW/MA