(Ecofin Agency) - Senegal’s government announced it secured a 32.5 billion CFA francs loan from Islamic Development Bank for Sonacos S.A. (formerly Suneor). The facility which will help better structure marketing of groundnut, will be used to settle payments to farmers by the end of October, APS said.

The financing comes for Sonacos S.A. at a vital moment as it is overwhelmed by debts, few months only after it was re-acquired by the State (July 2016). Sonacos’ director Pape Dieng said the debt is about 54 billion CFA francs adding that capital losses stand at 17 billion.

“We found the company in an extremely difficult position, with piles of debts and significant capital losses. A lot of funds have to be injected and debt must be restructured,” he said.

IDB’s loan follows few months after World Bank injected €19.4 million in the company under bailout plan.

Sonacos which was controlled for a long time by businessman Abbas Jabber fell into the hands of the State after an amicable separation. Let’s recall that the government said last year it was not against the company being privatized indicating just that the operation should not be rushed.

Aaron Akinocho