110604
today:
Privatisation exercise on course, says BPE
* Bids for Daily Times, others open on Monday
AHEAD of the opening of financial bids for some companies next Monday, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) yesterday rated the Federal Government's Privatisation Scheme as having made much progress.
To the Director-General of the BPE, Dr. Julius Bala, the success of the programme is mainly due to the "excellent" support being given by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).
Bala, who spoke to reporters in Abuja yesterday, gave further reasons for the success of the scheme.
According to him: "The privatisation programme is now on the increase with a new sense of urgency, a robust marketing support and strict sticking to the rules of the game in the best interests of both potential investors and the Nigerian economy."
Prominent among enterprises to be privatised under the short-term plan are Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) and Daily Times Plc. Their financial bids will be opened on June 14.
According to Bala, the two bidders for ALSCON - Rusal/Dayson Holdings Ltd and BFIGroup Corporation/Daewoo - are pre-qualified and had conducted due diligence at the plant.
Essentially, 77.5 per cent of the shares will go to the core investor, five per cent to staff of ALSCON and 10 per cent to the host community.
The current shareholding structure consists of 92.5 per cent held by the Federal Government and 7.5 per cent by Ferrostal AG of Germany.
In the case of Daily Times, five companies were pre-qualified of the six Expressions of Interest (EOIs) received.
However, four companies pre-qualified after a merger by Johnnic Communications Ltd of South Africa and Patike Communications Ltd of Nigeria. The other three companies are Folio Communications Ltd, Mayoral Forum Ltd and Mindsprings Communications Ltd, all Nigerian companies.
The director-general said that Majestic Oil of Sierra Leone had paid up the price offer for the West African Refinery Company and that the hand-over process had begun.
Furthermore, he said transactions on the National Trucks Manufacturing Ltd (NTM), Kano, had also been completed with the recent payment of $1.3 million by Art Engineering Company.
The amount represents the balance for the 24 per cent shares formerly owned by the Federal Government in that company.
Bala stated that there were "imminent prospects" for the privatisation of two other enterprises under the medium-term plan.
They are Delta Steel Company (DSC), Aladja and National Fertiliser Company of Nigeria (NAFCON), Port Harcourt.
The director-general disclosed that seven companies had expressed interest in DSC following a readvertisement of the enterprise, with five of them pre-qualified.
The interested companies are Niger Benue Transport Company (NBTC), Osaka Steels Ltd, Dangote Industries Ltd, BUA International Ltd and Global Infrastructure Holdings Ltd.
The opening of the financial bids has been slated for June 18, 2004.
In the case of NAFCON, Bala said the bureau had received eight applications following the re-advertisement of the company through the core investor approach.
BPE had terminated the sale agreement with SINO AFRICA in December 2003, following its failure to pay any part of the purchase price.
Bala stated that in the fresh bid to sell NAFCON, the BPE proposed 90 per cent share holding for the core investor.
He added that 10 per cent of the shares went to Rivers State as against the initial offer of 51 per cent to core investor, 10 per cent to Rivers State and 29 per cent through Initial Public Offer (IPO) respectively.
| 
