afb Ghana has received regulatory approval to list bonds up to GHS 100 million on the Ghana Stock Exchange. afb is all set to issue its first tranche of listed bonds to raise GHS 30 million over the next few weeks.
The issue has already received long term rating of ‘BBB’ from GCR (Global Credit Rating) company. The BBB credit rating makes it an ‘investment grade’ bond.
afb started its operations in Ghana in 2010 and since then has invested over 20 million USD of capital into the Ghana market. afb has over 198 full time staff and over 500 sales agents with over 60,000 customers. The company aims to help drive a better and brighter future for all Ghanaians and has a robust loans product portfolio that covers Payroll loans, afb Direct loans and Smart Cash loans.
Arnold Parker, Managing Director, afb Ghana said on the impending listing, “By doing this, we broaden the universe of investors who can support the growth of afb in Ghana. A listed funding platform allows afb to continue to fund the development of the company from the local stock exchange.” Bruce Sneddon, Chief Financial Officer, afb Group stated that, “afb will predominantly use the first tranche of the bond proceeds to pay off USD debt owed to offshore counterparties. This debt is very expensive, especially given the weakening of the GHS vs the USD over the past two years and the balance will be used to continue expanding the loan portfolio.”
Arnold further added, “afb Ghana has been growing steadily in the market and today we have 23 branches catering to over 60,000 customers. This raising of funds will set the company up for the next phase of advancement. It will help streamline activities to enhance service delivery, fund working capital and also expand into new loan products which will provide wider choices to all Ghanaians to make their lives better.”
Commenting on the ‘BBB’ rating accorded by GCR (Global Credit Rating) Company to afb’s GHS 30 million bond issue, Bruce said, “We are the first company in Ghana to have a rated listing and this also shows confidence in afb’s vision and strategy for the Ghanaian market.”
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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