CBG has marked the beginning of a new paradigm in funding local corporations in Ghana by partnering Kasapreko Co. Plc and helping it to raise a corporate bond and listing a Series 1 GHS 600million note on the Ghana Fixed Income Market. This Note is at a rate of 26% and spread over a period of 5 years.

At a press briefing at the premises of the CBG head office on Monday 19^th February, 2024, the Managing Director of CBG, Mr Daniel Wilson Addo, indicated that this was the first time that an indigenous Ghanaian Bank had worked with an indigenous manufacturing company to raise funding from local pension funds in the public market.

He explained that the issuance was structured as a three-year unsecured Note, with a floating rate coupon and a bullet repayment of principal at maturity. He noted that this would be issued in tranches to refinance expensive short-term debt, support working capital and finance capital expenditure. Mr Addo said that listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange, ensured price discovery for noteholders and potential buyers and that for Kasapreko Co. Plc, this was the first step towards diversifying the funding mix and optimizing the maturity structure of its debt funding.

He pointed out that “CBG worked with key stakeholders in the financial industry to raise medium-term funding at a cost significantly lower than the Ghana Reference Rate (GRR) for borrowing in this market.”  He noted that this transaction was “another addition to the issuances on the corporate  bond market,” and expressed confidence that it would be the spark to ignite growth in this market segment. He said that it was important for players in the corporate sector to realise there were other sources of funding apart from the traditional banks. He said that CBG was ready to listen to business owners, know and understand their needs and craft a solution to best address those needs and help the businesses grow and expand their frontiers. 

Mr Addo emphasised that the local corporate and SME sector was the key to economic growth and that resources must be commited to this sector, build productive capacity, invest in human capital and create the environment for the sector to thrive.

Mr Addo reiterated the bank's commitment to the Ghanaian entrepreneur and reaffirmed CBG's pledge to stand with the Ghanaian through good and bad times.

The Managing Director of Kasapreko, Mr Richard Adjei, expressed the company's excitement at embarking on this momentous journey of listing a GHC 600 million bond and was grateful for the confidence that CBG and the market had shown in Kasapreko Co. Plc.  He said that CBG informed them that they could raise cheaper and more sustainable funds, and led them to the stock exchange.  He explained that Kasapreko was issuing a debt statement for loans to fund the company.

Kasapreko Co. Plc which has been in existence for almost 35 years is a major foreign exchange earner and a leader in realizing the vision of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) which is, creating a single continental market. It has extended production into Nigeria, Liberia and Kenya and has an export footprint spanning 9 countries in West Africa, 2 countries in Southern Africa and one in East Africa.