Olam WC Loan

completed

The proposed IFC investment is to support Olam Agri (or the “Company”) in purchasing of wheat, maize and soy in sourcing origins for delivery to Olam Agri’s processing operations and other customers in West Africa, South and South-East Asia, and Middle East and North Africa. Wheat, maize and soy will be sourced from Canada, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and the USA – all origins having consolidated agricultural areas. Total estimated wheat, corn and soy sourced in origins in 2021 was estimated respectively at 1,200,000, 543,000 and 1,125,000 metric tons (MT) / year.  The proposed financing package is of up to US$200 million one-year corporate loan with an option to renew annually two times. This investment is part of the World Bank Group US$5 billion Global Food Security and Nutrition Crisis Program, including US$1 billion response by IFC. Olam Agri do not have any logistic facilities in the sourcing origins, while there are no expansion of existing Olam Agri’s processing operations in destination countries being envisioned by this proposed investment  Olam Agri is a fully owned subsidiary of Olam Group, a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fibre worldwide with a value chain spanning over 60 countries, which includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a global network of farmers. Olam Agri has a global origination of grains & oilseeds, animal feed & protein, rice, edible oils, specialty grains & seeds, cotton, wood products, rubber. Olam Agri is at the heart of global food and agri-trade flows with more than 40 million MT in volume traded annually.  This would be IFC’s fourth investment in Olam since 2013, following a corporate loan investment of $US120 million which was approved in 2013 and repaid in 2015 (https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/31566/olam-corp-loan), a second corporate loan investment of $120 million approved in 2016 and repaid in 2021 (https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/34841/olam-ii-wc-loan), a third corporate loan investment of $120 million approved in 2020 (https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/40675/olam-smallholder-crop-financing) for procurement of crop (e.g. cashew, cocoa, coffee, cotton and spices) primarily grown by smallholder farmers in IDA countries (Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Vietnam, Indonesia). Olam’s environmental and social (E&S) performance against IFC’s Performance Standards requirements and implementation of E&S Action Plan (ESAP) has been satisfactory