NIMAREX chief sees stock exchange as source of cheap funding for shipping firms

Worried that poor funding limits the participation of indigenous shipping firms in Nigeria’s lucrative shipping business, Margret Onyema-Orakwusi, chairman of the planning committee of the 2014 Nigerian Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), has said that Nigerian shipping firms can raise cheap fund through issuing stocks to shareholders.

The NIMAREX boss, who decried the lack of interest on the part of indigenous shipping companies to explore the opportunities offered by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to raise fund for vessel acquisition and other investments, said it was very worrisome to note that only one shipping company was quoted on the floor of the NSE.

“NIMAREX is partnering with the NSE because we want to see more Nigerian shipping companies and other maritime firms quoted on the floor of the NSE. If Nigerian shipping firms go public, it would also give more opportunities to Nigerians, who want to be part of shipping business but cannot afford to buy ship, to become shareholders in such companies,” she explained.

Listing the achievements recorded in the last three years that the expo has existed, Onyema-Orakwusi observed that many local and international investors have been attracted into investing in the nation’s maritime industry which, she said, offers many opportunities to investors.

The maritime expo is crucial to driving the growth of the industry because it not only brings operators together but also engenders partnership deals between indigenous companies and prospective foreign investors in accordance with the provisions of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act.

According to her, the 2014 edition of the expo would be unique because it would also showcase the achievements of the Nigerian maritime industry in the last 100 years of existence so as to draw a roadmap for the future.

Port users fault NPA over negligence of Delta PortWarri, Delta State-based importers and other port users have blamed the under-utilisation of the Warri Port on negligence on the part of the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) as well as their refusal to dredge the water channel.

The port users, who observed that business activities at the Warri Port were at their lowest ebb, also decried the inability of Delta State government to promote the port and make it viable.

Val Johnbull Oribhabor, national financial secretary, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), who blamed the low business activities at the port on the inability of the Delta State government to market the port, also said that failure of ships to get cargoes on return trip was another hindrance to vessels calling the port.

“There is need for the state government to properly market the port to make it attractive,” he said.

Peter Oghenekevwe, a port user, also said that the state government should market the port in order to revive it, just the way the Lagos State government is promoting the Lekki Port. Reviving the port, he said, was not only to make it operational, but also to open doors of opportunities and employment for the unemployed youths.

By: Amaka Anagor