Quantum Terminals, a logistics company, has formally listed GH¢ 45 million worth of 10-year corporate bond on the Ghana Fixed Income Market, becoming the first non-financial institution to issue a corporate bond on the Market.
The listing is the first tranche of a GH¢ 140 million bond programme by the company.
Speaking at the listing ceremony in Accra on Thursday, the Executive Chairman of Quantum Terminals, Mr Emmanuel Egyei-Mensah, said the capital would help the company to construct new storage terminals across the country.
He said the company was constructing three storage facilities, including LPG storage across the country, at an estimated cost of $148 million to better serve the clients of the company.
'The first one would be completed in June and the remaining two would be completed in the course of the year,' he said.
Mr Egyei-Mensah said the new storage facilities included a State-of-the-art truck parking facility, and a staff-village at Atuabo to house the staff of the company.
He said the company would continue to invest in more storage and loading terminals to enhance gas distribution across the country.
'The next level of our strategy is to construct a $ 52-million three refilling plants next year at Atuabo, Kumasi and Tema,' he said.
The Executive Chairman said $6 million out of the initial $ 10 which had been raised through the Ghana Fixed Income Market would be used to finance a $ 12 million facility the company took from Standard Chartered Bank.
He said the local currency nature of the bond would allow the company to manage future exchange rate volatility.
The bond, he said has a 75 percent partial credit guarantee from GurantCo, a company established to mobilize local currency investment for infrastructure projects and support the development of financial markets in low income countries, for the benefit of pension fund investors that have subscribed to the issue.
'This is a great example of how development finance institutions should be partnering with the private sector,' he said, adding that 'I believe the completion of this bond will signal a new beginning for corporate accessing capital markets in Ghana. We expect this to be the first of many more.'
The CEO of GuarantCo, Mr Lasitha Perera, said his outfit was delighted to have partnered with Quantum Terminals Limited on this landmark corporate bond issue, which will support the construction of essential energy infrastructure.
'Ghana's capital markets have a crucial role to play in the development of the country's infrastructure sector, which is critical to its economic development and future prosperity. It is our hope that through the precedents and framework that this transaction establishes other corporate, and investors can benefit and stimulate the growth of the local capital markets," he said.
The Managing Director of the GSE, Mr Kofi Yamoah lauded Quantum Terminals for using the Fixed Income Market to raise capital to finance the operations of the company.
He said the Ghana Fixed Income market grew from a modest GH¢ 500 million in 2015 to 6.7 billion in December 2017, adding that the bond market has a significant role to play in the country's development.
African Alliance Securities Ghana Limited is the sponsor of Quantum Terminals Plc's GH¢ 140 million Medium Term Note Programme.
