AgriNurture Inc., a company owned by businessman Antonio Tiu, said global investment bank Vnesto Capital expressed interest to extend up to $100 million in long-term financing to the company.
AgriNuture said in a disclosure Monday its board accepted Vnesto’s letter of intent to finance projects for up to $100 million with interest pegged at Treasury Bill rates plus three percent.
The final amount and terms of the long-term financing deal will be finalized upon completion of a due diligence process.
Vnesto Capital is a US-based global investment bank that provides long-term project financing and equity capital to enterprises in emerging markets.
The company’s board, meanwhile, approved the move to subscribe to additional shares of Binangongan Rural Bank Inc., which owns one of the few electronic money issuer licenses issued in the country by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The decision is part of a plan to establish a closed-loop agricultural ecosystem being envisioned by the company. Along with BRB, AgriNurture’s e-wallet can now be in sync with Automated Teller Machine cards of the bank and allows farmers to access cash anytime, anywhere.
BRB has licensed financial technology platforms that can improve the access of Filipino farmers—especially those in remote areas—to agri agra micro-financing.
Earthright Holdings Inc., the parent of AgriNurture, acquired a significant stake in BRB through a recent subscription agreement to raise the bank’s capital.
The partnership plans to launch the full digital banking platform in the first half of the year aimed at providing micro-financing to farmers.
AgriNurture president Antonio Tiu said the company also received the green light from the board to submit unsolicited proposals to the Department of Agriculture and National Food Authority in relation to the DA’s Ri-Co, or Rice and Corn Project. Jenniffer B. Austria
The company is also seeking to introduce the rice and corn blend to the NFA as alternative staple food.
“This is a paradigm shift in the Agri sector transforming palay growers into producers of value added finish products. The Ri-Co farmers will be able to access financing through e-vouchers to be made available via the ecosystem of ANI,” the company said.
AgriNurture ventured into the importation and trading of rice in the first quarter of 2015 and has since then participated in NFA’s rice importation program for the private sector.