Olam Palm Gabon (IFC-39310)

Countries
  • Gabon
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Awala, Mouila, Ndende, Makouke, Lambarene, Owendo
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Oct 31, 2023
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Olam Palm Gabon SA
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Construction
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 150.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 350.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Jul 4, 2023

Disclosed by Bank Jun 21, 2023

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated on the project disclosure page, the proposed IFC investment is a project finance loan with use of proceeds to support an investment of up $350 m to Olam Palm Gabon of which US$150 m would be from IFC’s own account and the remaining amount to be syndicated and financed by IFC’s Parallel lenders. The proceeds will be used for (i) the maintenance of the entire palm oil project which includes OPG’s 63,330 ha of developed palm oil plantations (Awala, Makouke, Mouila Lot 1, 2 and 3, and Ndende), three palm oil mills and kernel crushing plants at Awala, Mouila Lot 1 and 3, crude palm oil (CPO) refinery in Lambarene, and all ancillary facilities (e.g. biogas co-generation power plant at the Awala mill, 24,000 ha drip irrigation system at Makouke and Mouila Lot 1, 2 and 3, CPO bulking station at Owendo port, worker’s accommodations, Crop Protection Products (CPP) and fertilizers warehouses, and maintenance workshop), (ii) capital expenditure, including the construction of a bio-diesel plant and refinery at Owendo port, construction of a 4th mill at Mouila Lot 2 or 3, including a kernel crushing plant, roll-out of the remaining 20,000 ha of drip irrigation project at Makouke and Mouila plantations, biogas co-generation power plants at three mills, namely Mouila Lot 1, 3 and at the proposed 4th mill, and other maintenance, logistics, and building additions/upgrades), and (iii) partial repayment of the shareholder loan from the sponsors.

Detailed locations of project activities are listed in below link at Olam Group ’s website (“View Our Plantation Locations”): https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/viewer?mid=14dfeS1Tch4LqkIOi-8Io8445tOeggRf5&ll=-0.17200352574736424%2C10.995013000000004&z=7.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

OPG is a palm oil joint venture between Olam Group Holding (60%) and the Government of Gabon (40%), established in 2011. Olam Group Holding is part of Olam Group Limited, a global agribusiness group listed on the Singapore Exchange.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Olam Group Parent Company Agriculture and Forestry

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

General IFC Inquiries - IFC Communications:

Address: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20433
Telephone: +1 202-473-3800
Fax: +1 202-974-4384

Client - Olam Palm Gabon SA:

Address: Galeries Tsika, 2nd floor, BP 1024, Libreville, Gabon
Phone: (+241) 02 12 31 31
Fax: (+241) 01 76 14 84

Parent Company - Olam Global Holdco Pte. Ltd:

Mr. Venkataraman Krishnan - Global Head, Strategic Investments and Business Development
Phone: +65 6339 4100
Email: k.venkat@olamnet.com
Address: 7, Straits View, #20-01, Marina One East Tower, Singapore 018936
Website: https://www.olamgroup.com/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works