(Ecofin Agency) - After refinancing its debt for a year with $1.8 billion it obtained last September 2015, Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) now plans to mobilize another $300 million from 6 banks as part of an international syndicated loan.

While it has been disclosed that the transaction should have a 3-years maturity period, associated interest rates are yet to be stated. The last time the institution obtained such a significant loan was in 2012 where it mobilized a total of $200 million with the same maturity period. In this case, just like in the previous one, the fund will be used to pre-finance cocoa exports.

The Ghanaian structure is not the only non-finance one in Africa to have reached out to international capitals market to mobilize financial resources this year ending. Truly, in Zambia, another country affected by the falling prices of commodities (copper) and weakening currency to US dollar, Zesco, the country’s main public energy company, also intends to mobilize $122 million.

The transaction was initiated last October and should be completed before the end of the year. However, it should be recalled that such initiatives appear to be very challenging for African lenders.

Zambia’s low credit rating makes investors adhesion quite difficult. In South Africa however, Naspers, despite the various economic challenges the country faces, was able to mobilize $2.5 billion, clearly proving how much it is trusted by international market.

Idriss Linge