KUCHING: JB Cocoa Sdn Bhd (JB Cocoa), a wholly-owned subsidiary of JB Foods Ltd (JB Foods), a listed company on the Singapore Exchange, has successfully issued its maiden RM100 million sukuk wakalah under its rated Islamic mediumterm notes programme of up to RM500 million in nominal value based on the shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar.

The sukuk wakalah programme is guaranteed by JB Foods and has been assigned an A+IS final rating with a stable outlook by MARC Ratings Berhad.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser, lead arranger and lead manager, and AmBank Islamic Berhad is the shariah adviser for the Sukuk Wakalah Programme.

AmBank Group managing director of business banking Christopher Yap said, “JB Cocoa has been our customer for 12 years and we are gratified with the opportunity to support them in diversifying their fund-raising needs by tapping the capital markets.

“The company’s strong financial and track record shall stand them in good stead for their next phase.”

JB Foods and its subsidiaries are one of the major cocoa ingredient producers in the world. Established since the 2000s, the JBC Group is known for its quality and service.

Its JB Cocoa brand of premium cocoa ingredient products, namely mass, butter and powder, are produced at its state-ofthe-art and energy-efficient plants, which utilise the latest technology in cocoa processing.

JBC Group is committed to sustainable cocoa sourcing and manufacturing and is in the process of constructing a new plant in Côte d’Ivoire that is expected to be ready by end 2024.

JB Foods chief executive officer Tey How Keong, weighed in on the company’s joint efforts with the AmBank Group, “I am pleased that we have successfully issued the first tranche of RM10 million out of our sukuk wakalah programme for our business expansion notwithstanding the current challenging economic environment.

“The commitment and guidance that we have received from AmInvestment Bank and AmBank’s Business Banking relationship team who have worked closely with us on this programme have been one of the key success contributors and bear testament to the AmBank Group’s high level of professionalism.”

AmInvestment Bank chief executive officer Tracy Chen Wee Keng added that the successful inaugural issuance of RM100.0 million Sukuk Wakalah by JB Cocoa despite challenging market conditions is a testimony of its strength in the debt capital markets, the dedication of its staff and its relentless quest to exceed clients’ expectations.

“We will continue to build on this positive performance to maintain a strong relationship with JB Cocoa and deliver the best for them.”