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Olam secures $175mn IFC loan to finance operations in Nigeria and India

19 Apr 2016, 01:57 pm
Financial Nigeria
Olam secures $175mn IFC loan to finance operations in Nigeria and India

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- Olam said it has signed a five-year $175 million loan agreement to finance its food processing facilities in Nigeria and India.


Olam International said it has signed a five-year $175 million loan agreement with the International Finance Corporation. According to a statement released on Tuesday, the agribusiness company said the loan will enable it finance its permanent working capital and capital expenditure requirements for food processing facilities in Nigeria and India.

Olam said the IFC loan will support the financing of its Crown Flour Mills in Nigeria and the Hemarus sugar mill and spice processing facilities in India.

“These food processing facilities, located in Nigeria and India, will help generate local employment and provide a ready buyer at market prices for farmers in the communities,” said Neelamani Muthukumar, Olam’s Group Chief Financial Officer. “Olam’s focus on inclusive growth, enabling economic prosperity and social and environmental sustainability in developing nations, is a perfect fit with IFC’s mandate.”

Olam became one of the largest wheat millers in Nigeria after it acquired Crown Flour Mills Limited for $107.6 million in 2010. In January this year, Olam expanded its wheat milling operations by acquiring the wheat and pasta businesses of Bua Group for $275 million.

Last week, Olam secured a $650 million credit facility from over 10 global banks to fund capital projects, including an ultra-modern animal feed mills, poultry breeding farms, and a hatchery in Kaduna State and Kwara State in Nigeria valued at $150 million.

Olam is the largest agricultural export company in Nigeria, dealing in the export of cocoa, cashew, sesame, and cotton. The company began its global agricultural commodities trading business in Nigeria in 1989 and has invested over $1 billion in the country’s agriculture sector in the last ten years.


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