PRAN Agro Limited, a subsidiary of PRAN-RFL Group, has successfully completed a significant onshore bond issuance worth Tk262 crore. This eight-year tenor bond will provide financial support for PRAN Agro’s infrastructure expansion initiatives, according to a press release.
MetLife Bangladesh acted as the sole investor in this bond, which also received partial backing from GuarantCo. PRAN Agro’s reputation was a key factor in MetLife’s decision to invest in this bond without any guarantee, as stated in the press release.
The proceeds from the GuarantCo-supported bond will enable PRAN Agro to fund the second phase of its expansion plan, which includes the construction of additional factory buildings and the acquisition of machinery for product categories such as noodles, confectionery, culinary, cooking oil, and bakery products. This expansion is in response to growing demand for its products in various export markets.
PRAN-RFL is one of Bangladesh’s largest corporations in the field of agri and agro-processing. The company works with 100,000 registered contract farmers and directly employs 145,000 people. This transaction is expected to benefit approximately 240 new contract farmers by providing them with a reliable income source and create about 500 jobs across various levels of production, operations, and maintenance, with around 60% of these jobs being for women.
A bond closing ceremony was held at the Radisson Blu hotel in Dhaka, where several prominent figures, including Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam (Chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission), Dr. Duncan Overfield (Deputy Development Director, Government of the UK), Ahsan Khan Chowdhury (Chairman and CEO of PRAN-RFL Group), Elena Butarova (Senior Vice President of MetLife), and Nishant Kumar (Managing Director and Head of Asia, GuarantCo), delivered speeches.
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Uzma Chowdhury, Director (Corporate Finance) of PRAN-RFL Group, expressed that there is a high demand for agro-processed food products manufactured by PRAN in foreign markets. The funding from this bond will allow them to expand their capacity to meet the increasing demand in global export markets.
Ala Ahmad, CEO of MetLife Bangladesh, emphasized their commitment to supporting the success of local businesses and communities through investments like this PRAN Agro bond. He noted that MetLife Bangladesh’s total investment in the country’s financial sector exceeds Tk17,000 crore.
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Layth Al-Falaki, CEO of GuarantCo, expressed his delight in closing this second transaction with PRAN Agro, which will further develop Bangladesh’s bond market. He mentioned that their previous investment of Tk2.1 billion ($25 million) in a guaranteed bond in 2021 had a positive impact on the development of the debt capital markets in the country.
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This is the second transaction that both GuarantCo and MetLife have engaged in with PRAN Agro. The first transaction involved the issuance of the first internationally guaranteed bond in Bangladesh, listed on the Alternative Trading Board of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. This second transaction showcases the potential for trading corporate bonds on the secondary market through the Alternative Trading Board, with expectations of further enhancing the efficiency of Bangladesh’s corporate bond market.
