Agribusiness conglomerate Olam has secured a US$650mn revolving credit facility (RCF).

The Singapore-based company, which is the among the world’s largest coffee and cotton traders, signed the deal with a host of banks, and will use the capital to refinance existing debt and meet working capital requirements.

It follows similar moves by rival companies Trafigura, Gunvor and Noble in refinancing existing debt over recent weeks. Despite the downturn in commodity prices and the underperformance of many trading companies, the dearth of other deals in the market makes these cyclical syndicated loans attractive for banks in Asia.

There are two tranches to the facility, each worth US$325mn. One has a tenor of 364 days, the other oftwo years.

The Singapore branches of the following banks acted as mandated lead arrangers on the transaction: ANZ, BBVA, BTMU, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse, DBS, HSBC, JP Morgan, Mizuho, NAB, Natixis and Standard Chartered.

Olam, like many of its counterparts, is a regular visitor to the debt markets. In October 2015 it refinanced US$1bn worth of RCFs, days after acquiring the cocoa business of rival trader Archer Daniels Midland. In May 2014, it announced a jumbo debt package of US$2.2bn.

On the heels of the announcement, Olam also made public news of a joint venture with Mitsubishi, to form a commodity import and distribution company in the Japanese market. MC Agri Alliance (MCAA) will focus on coffee, cocoa, sesame, edible nuts, spices, vegetable ingredients and tomato products, with Mitsubishi holding a 70% stake and Olam holding 30%.

Operations are set to commence in October, with the JV set to focus on sustainable agriculture, ensuring the agri-food supply chain into Japan is secure and responsibly sourced.

Olam itself is majority owned by the Singaporean sovereign investment company Temasek, which holds large shares in the likes of Standard Chartered, DBS, Singapore Airlines and Markit.