Pran Agro Limited successfully issues the first internationally guaranteed bond in Bangladesh
The coupon rate for the seven-year bond will be 5.75%
Pran Agro, one of the largest food processing companies in Bangladesh, has raised Tk210 crore through a corporate guaranteed bond, which is non-convertible, unsecured, and fully redeemable.
The bond signifies a number of landmark achievements in the financial sector of Bangladesh, including: the first blended finance structured bond of its kind, the first such bond guaranteed by GuarantCo or other international DFIs, the first to be subscribed by an international insurance company and the country's first directly issued digitized bond under private placement of debt securities rules, reads a press release.
In September last year, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission approved the bond.
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As per the commission's decision, MetLife Bangladesh was supposed to invest in 100% of the bond and GuarantCo Ltd will be the corporate guarantor.
The coupon rate for the seven-year bond will be 5.75%.
The bond proceeds will be used to develop critical infrastructure in the agricultural supply chain and support the company's expansion plans in local and export markets.
The 7-year fixed coupon bond, which is the first-ever instrument of its kind in Bangladesh, is expected to play a transformational role in supporting alternate source of infrastructure financing in Bangladesh.
Green Delta Capital Ltd and Riverstone Capital Ltd are the trustee and the lead arranger of the bond respectively.
The bond is backed by an on-demand guarantee by GuarantCo, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden through the PIDG Trust, the Netherlands through FMO and the PIDG Trust, France through a stand-by facility and Global Affairs Canada through a repayable facility. GuarantCo is rated AA- by Fitch and A1 by Moody's.
Pran Agro's factory is located in Natore. It was formed by using the equity and entrepreneurship fund (EEF) and is the country's first EEF project.
The company mainly produces tomato ketchup sold in the local market and abroad.
In addition, it processes fruit pulps, mustard oil, jams, jellies, spices, sauces, nuts and pulses.
Currently, Pran-RFL Group exports its products to more than 145 countries.
