The first tranche of the Cocoa Syndicated Loan, amounting to approximately $541 million, has been successfully credited to the Bank of Ghana's account on December 22, 2023.

This initial inflow represents a significant portion of the overall $800 million loan, with the second tranche of about $200 million scheduled for transfer to the Central Bank's account in January 2024.

Parliament played a crucial role in advancing the loan process by approving the Trade Facility Agreement for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in November 2023.

The approval was based on the recommendation of the Finance Committee of Parliament, enabling COCOBOD to proceed with finalizing paperwork with participating banks.

Under the agreed-upon terms endorsed by Parliament, COCOBOD will incur an interest rate of nearly 8%, inclusive of the one-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), currently hovering around 5.3%, along with a margin of 2.65%.

The funds received by the Bank of Ghana will be converted into cedis and subsequently transferred to COCOBOD.

These financial resources are earmarked to support the procurement of cocoa beans from farmers through licensed buying companies for the upcoming 2023/2024 crop season.

This financial injection is expected to have an immediate impact on the Bank of Ghana's reserves, potentially enhancing its ability to strengthen the cedi. Furthermore, the news of COCOBOD's collaboration with various banks has already contributed to the stabilization of the cedi in the foreign exchange market.