Bank of China contributes to EUR 85 million syndicated loan to SIPH for rubber processing plants in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana

Project narrative

In late 2020, a group of banks — including Société Générale, Proparco, Bank of China, Le Crédit Lyonnais (LCL), the African Development Bank, and Banque Palatine — signed an EUR 85 million syndicated loan agreement with Société Internationale de Plantations d'Hévéas (SIPH) — a leader in the production of natural rubber in Africa, with 60,000 hectares of agricultural land divided between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia — to develop a rubber processing plant in Soubré in Côte d'Ivoire and refinance a loan that was previously contracted for the construction of a rubber processing plant in Ghana. The loan carries an interest rate of 3-month Euribor plus and a 10-year margin. As sources of collateral, the borrower pledged 9,1888,000 SAPH shares through a pledged securities account and the income from a pledged securities account. The first tranche of EUR 60 million disbursed at the end of 2020. The second tranche of EUR 12.5 million disbursed in January 2021. The third tranche of EUR 12.5 million disbursed on February 11, 2022.