07/10/2011 (ShareCast) - Equatorial Palm Oil has announced that its 50%-owned joint venture partner, Liberian Palm Developments, has entered into a $10m loan agreement with Geoff Palm and Broadcourt Investments.

The loan, which covers a period of six months, carries an interest rate of the latest inter-bank lending rate, plus 4% or 5% per annum and a transaction fee which is payable at the rate of 1% of the loan.

The move will allow the company to gain exposure to a Papua New Guinea palm oil project, where Geoff Palm has signed long-term leases with the country's government.

The principal sum and the interest are repayable in one single payment at the end of the six month period. The guarantee is provided by Broadcourt Investments.

Both Geoff Palm and Broadcourt Investments are related to BioPalm Energy, which has a 26.7% stake in Equatorial Palm Oil.

Equatorial's share price rose 7.14% to 11.25p by 13:27.