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Block Commodities Ltd (BLOC)
Block Commodities Ltd: Strategic Investor and launch of FarmCoin Venture
14-May-2018 / 07:00 GMT/BST
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14 May 2018
BLOCK COMMODITIES LIMITED
("Block Commodities" or the "Company")
Block Commodities Limited / Epic: BLCC / Sector: Mining
Strategic Investor and launch of FarmCoin Venture
Block Commodities Limited and Financial & Commodities Ecosystem Limited
(FinComEco) a subsidiary of GMEX Group Ltd, are pleased to announce a
strategic alliance with Swarm Fund (Swarm). Swarm is a fully decentralised
capital marketplace platform built on blockchain technology for private
equity. Under the alliance, the parties will provide a unique investment
opportunity via the listing of FarmCoin Venture, an asset-backed investment
coin, to help develop a pan-African financial and commodities ecosystem.
Under the terms of the agreement, investors will be able to participate in
the FarmCoin via Swarm's fully regulated marketplace. This investment will
help supply African farmers with the financing of the infrastructure needed
to help them raise yields and sell crop surpluses.
The FarmCoin Venture has been created as a Joint Venture between FinComEco
and Block Commodities (the "Joint Venture") to support the anticipated rapid
growth of its agriculture-focussed ecosystem and the requirement to deploy a
hybrid centralised and decentralised commodity exchange platform. This
includes wireless data communication, farmers' KYC data support, data
analysis, smart warehousing for fertilizer distribution and crop storage as
well as transport.
The initial investment ceiling will be US$45 million in value of FarmCoin
tokens. The investment will be deployed by the Joint Venture parties to
develop commodity ecosystems on a per-country basis across sub-Saharan
Africa. This will include commodity finance and micro-lending to farmers for
fertilizer and seed as well as the development of local and regional
warehousing linked to commodity exchanges, making it easier for farmers to
sell surplus agricultural produce.
FarmCoin's primary aim is to provide a fully regulated financial
infrustracture to Block Commodities and FinComEco's commodity ecosystem.
This ecosystem intends to provide financial opportunities for those parts of
African farming community who is either ineligible for loans or are forced
to take on borrowings via moneylenders at uneconomic rates. FinComEco is
already in discussions with over twenty countries across Africa with four
countries already contracted to take up its model.
In the FarmCoin model, farmers will be able to bring surplus crops to a
warehouse.The surplus crops are aggregated and sold via a
FinComEco-facilitated commodities exchange. Once the crops are sold, the
warehouse fees and loan interest are paid and the net profit credited to the
farmer in FarmCoins. The interest rates on FarmCoins will be at a mutually
agreed, decentralised interest rate, expected to be up to 50 percent lower
than prevailing bank lending rates and 75 percent less than the commercial
rate.
Investors who participate in Swarm's marketplace will purchase FARM tokens,
representing fractional ownership in the FarmCoin infrastructure, making
this a true asset-backed token. FARM token holders will benefit from a share
in the fees and interest paid by the farmers.
Block Commodities Executive Chairman, Chris Cleverly said: "FarmCoin will
give investors not only a unique investment opportunity in one of the prime
"unbanked" global markets, but also the chance to lend a helping hand to
improve the lives and opportunities of Africa's poorest farmers. Support
from Swarm Fund allows Block Commodities and FinComEco to make real progress
on these goals, enabled by blockchain technology, "
Chairman of GMEX Group and CEO of FinComEco, Hirander Misra commented: "Our
primary concern is providing well-needed infrastructure and resources to
unbanked farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, enabling them to feed their families
by providing transaction security, eliminating corruption, reducing
borrowing costs, and ensuring the liquidity for the purchase of inputs by
guaranteeing the sale of produce,"
CEO and Co-Founder of Swarm, Philipp Pieper commented: "This puts Swarm in
one of the most exciting places for crypto: ground zero for much of the
world's unbanked. Our strategy is based on using our unique ecosystem to
create real value for hundreds of millions of people, enabling them to trade
responsibly with an objective of increasing income for farmers, to deliver
economic security across Africa. By 2030, the population of Africa will have
doubled to 2.5 billion, creating a profound need for a supportive and
educational ecosystem that gives farmers a route towards improve their
situations, lifting their families out of repetitive cycles of poverty,
starvation and dependency. Blockchain and smart contract investments like
FarmCoin enable market inefficiencies such as corruption, market access and
perception-based debt costs to be removed,"
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this
announcement.
For further information, please contact:
Block Commodities Limited
Chris Cleverly +44 (0) 20 7408 9200
NEX Exchange Corporate
Adviser:
Alexander David
Securities Limited
David Scott - Corporate +44 (0) 20 7448 9820
Finance
James Dewhurst - +44 (0) 20 7448 9820
Corporate Broking
Public and Investor
Relations:
Cassiopeia Services - stefania@cassiopeia-ltd.com
Stefania Barbaglio
FinComEco
melanie.budden@therealizationgroup.com
The Realization Group-
Melanie Budden
swarm@transformgroup.com
Swarm Fund
About Block Commodities
Block Commodities' strategy is to maximise the value of African agricultural
and other commodities through the deployment of blockchain technology. The
resources will be linked through the vertical integration of primary
industries down to consumers via blockchain platforms. Using blockchain's
ability to dynamically incorporate all market participants into an efficient
ecosystem, Block Commodities aims to facilitate the commercial operation of
such ecosystems in the context of the agricultural production cycle.
In reclaiming the value lost in African agricultural and extractive
industries through inefficient supply and distribution systems, Block
Commodities will help African farmers raise productivity and secure better
returns for produce. This is an important step in establishing African
communities as significant future global agricultural producers.
About FincomEco
FinComEco, a fully integrated Financial & Commodities Ecosystem, is a
corporate venture to provide an ecosystem of services, financing, capacity
building and enablement solutions underpinned by technology, to drive an
improvement in food security and economic diversity through socially
responsible commercial means (as opposed to charity), to foster financial
inclusion.
For more information visit www.FinComEco.com [1]
FinComEco is a subsidiary of GMEX Group, an innovative provider of exchange
and post-trade business services and technology. For more information visit
www.gmex-group.com [2] FinComEco Block Commodities' joint venture partner in
developing and operating a range of platforms/projects and initiatives in
the agricultural commodity markets sector in sub-Saharan Africa.
About Swarm Fund
Swarm Fund is the blockchain for private equity. A fully decentralised
capital marketplace, it democratises investing by using the power of
blockchain to open up high-return, alternative investment classes to smaller
investors through asset-backed funds using cryptocurrency tokens. It makes
traditionally exclusive investment opportunities - such as private equity
funds - inclusive for Swarm, and provides fund managers access to an
untapped capital stack. With a structure similar to a co-operative, Swarm
Fund is owned by its members, who also determine, through a liquid democracy
governance system, the administrative and philosophical direction of Swarm
Fund. By leveraging the efficiencies of intelligent, blockchain 3.0
technologies, Swarm provides an entire platform from which businesses can
create and run new, crypto-centric enterprises, with a wellspring of funding
built in.
ISIN: GG00B4QYTJ50
Category Code: ALL
TIDM: BLOC
Sequence No.: 5532
EQS News ID: 685169
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 14, 2018 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)
