The Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has confirmed that its latest commodity pre-export financing will be signed before the end of the year.

Barclays, BTMU, SMBC and Standard Bank are acting as the initial mandated lead arrangers on the US$200mn medium-term facility.

A source close to the deal tells GTR that the loan carries a margin of 200 basis points over Libor.

The loan, which will be secured against cocoa receivables backed by fixed price offtake contracts, will be used to develop infrastructure within Ghana, including the building of warehouses and rehabilitation of cocoa farms.

The company is said to be diversifying its financing options having raised US$2bn for its annual one-year trade finance facility in September. This is the second time that Cocobod has approached the market for medium-term financing, having last tapped the market in 2007.