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Nigeria Targets Share of $380bn Global Seaborne Trade

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NIMASA
  • Nigeria Targets Share of $380bn Global Seaborne Trade

The global seaborne trade is increasing tremendously and Nigeria is putting everything in motion to ensure that there is as much local participation in it as possible.

According to maritime sources, the global seaborne trade rose to 112 per cent in the third quarter of 2018.

Unfortunately, Nigeria is not even listed among nations that actively participate in the global seaborne trade and this has been the situation for decades, since the decline of the first Nigerian National Shipping Line.

Currently, Nigeria has no national vessel bearing its flag and all its cargoes are borne by foreign shipping lines.

While presenting a paper titled ‘Indigenous Fleet Development, what Options’, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Hassan Bello, noted that Nigerians had tried and failed to enter into international shipping, not necessarily due to the huge capital investment required, but because of their inability to compete with foreign operators who had list of incentives from their home governments.

He said, “At the moment, Nigeria cannot claim to have a viable indigenous shipping fleet and this is a disappointment, considering that about 60 to 70 per cent of ship traffic to West and Central Africa are destined for Nigeria.”

Bello said the NNSL was established to boost the image of the country by promoting the Nigerian flag, improving the country’s balance of payment, among other objectives.

He noted, however, that the company operated at a loss due to the modernisation in ship type coupled with evolving technology in the late 80s and 90s.

He recommended private instead of government control of the shipping business, adding that government control would lead to monopoly, non-economic choice of ships and routes, government interference and lack of capacity to compete.

According to the International Maritime Organisation, over 90 per cent of world trade is borne by sea and the real time growth in world Gross Domestic Product in the last two decades is 73 per cent.

Also, world exports and imports in 2017 were $17.8bn and $16.1bn respectively.

Reports from these international agencies also tied global trade to shipping, noting that shipping was the lifeblood of the global economy.

The International Chamber of Shipping and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated that the operation of merchant ships contributed about $380bn in freight rates within the global economy, equivalent to about five per cent of world trade.

According to it, there were over 50,000 merchant ships trading internationally, transporting every kind of cargo, adding that some of the vessels could cost up to $200m to build.

The world fleet is registered in over 150 nations and manned by over a million seafarers of virtually every nationality.

UNCTAD revealed that in terms of participation, the top 35 flags of registration by tonnage in 2018 were Panama, Marshall Islands, Liberia, Hong Kong (China), Singapore and others.

In its Review of the 2018 Maritime Transport, the body reported that with regard to shipping value chain, Germany was the largest container ship owning country.

Stakeholders are, however, determined to get more Nigerians into the global shipping business.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency in 2017 set up the Cabotage Compliance Strategy to create room for more indigenous shipowners to trade in Nigeria’s territorial waters.

The agency said in line with the new strategy, it would no longer grant permission for foreigners to take on jobs that Nigerians were qualified to handle aboard vessels trading in Nigeria.

While unveiling the enormous potential of the maritime sector in the next two years, the Director-General, NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, said the government had finalised plans to empower local shipowners to acquire vessels and also build capacity to compete in international trade.

Peterside said in addition to the $300m Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, the agency also sought alternative source of finance that could be accessed at single-digit by shipowners.

The Director-General, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, said the agency had equally partnered with NIMASA to increase local participation in the shipping sector.

Wabote, whose agency established $200m Nigerian Content Development Fund to aid the promotion of local content in the oil and gas sector, said efforts had been intensified to project local shipowners to the forefront of global seaborne trade.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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N1.3bn Fraud Allegation: Court Orders Arrest of Dana Air MD For Not Showing Up For Arraignment

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Mr. Hathiramani Ranesh

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of the Managing Director of Dana Air, Mr. Hathiramani Ranesh for failing to appear in court for his arraignment in the alleged N1.3 billion fraud preferred against him by the Office of the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF).

The Federal Government had on October 10, 2024, asked the court to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of Dana Air after failing to honour invitation for his arraignment.

The AGF had filed a six-count charge against Ranesh and two others and marked Dana Group PLC and Dana Steel Ltd as the 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.

The prosecution argued that Ranesh and the two companies, along with others still at large, committed a felony between September and December 2018 at the DANA Steel Rolling Factory in Katsina.

They were accused of conspiring to remove, convert, and sell four units of industrial generators—three units Ht of 9,000 KVA and one unit of 1,000 KVA—valued at over N450 million. These assets were reportedly part of the Deed of Asset Debenture used as collateral for a bond, which remains valid.

The defendants and others at large were said to have conspired to fraudulently divert N864 million between April 7th and 8th, 2014, at House No. 116, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Isolo-Lagos.

This sum, reportedly part of the bond proceeds from Ecobank intended for revitalizing production at Dana Steel Rolling Factory in Katsina, was allegedly diverted for unauthorized purposes.

They were also accused of conspiring to transfer N60,300,000 to an Atlantic Shrimpers account (No: 0001633175) at Access Bank, fraudulently diverting funds earmarked as part of the Ecobank bond proceeds for resuming production at the Katsina factory.

The cumulative amount involved in the charge totals N1,374,300,000. Each offense is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

After Mojisola-Okeya Esho, counsel to the Federal Government, had requested for bench warrant to be issued against Ranesh, the defence lawyer, B. Ademola-Bello, disagreed with Esho, saying that they had filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter and that the prosecution had already been served.

Delivering ruling on the application, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, agreed with Esho that Ranesh’s arrest was necessary due to his failure to appear in court despite being served with the charge and several proceedings having taken place.

Justice Egwuatu held that, according to Section 184 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the court has the authority to issue an arrest warrant against any defendant who fails to attend court sessions.

Egwuatu ordered that Ranesh must appear before the court on January 13, 2025, before any objections can be raised.

Consequently, he adjourned the matter till January 13, 2025, for hearing.

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Persistent Service Disruptions In Banks Paralyze Activities At Ports, Many Cargoes Trapped 

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Lekki Deep Seaport

Activities at the Apapa and Tin-Can Ports in Lagos State have been paralyzed as cargoes have remained uncleared following persistent disruption to some online services of some commercial banks in Nigeria.

It was gathered that the banks suffer network problems due to the upgrade of their electronic banking portals.

To this end, business moguls have been unable to pay the Customs duty necessary for the clearance of their cargoes at the ports.

A visit to the ports showed that many import units of containers have not been cleared because their clearance documents are still trapped in some banks due to ongoing network migration issues.

If the banking disruptions persist and cargoes continue to lie fallow at the ports, experts have said that prices of goods at Nigerian markets may soar.

Many persons who have been working at the ports have also been rendered jobless as activities at the ports remain in limbo.

Confirming the situation at the ports, the National President of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Mr. Frank Ogunojemite said many jobs are stuck because agents have been battling to settle payment part of their clearance schedules.

Ogunojemite revealed that the clearance of cargoes at the ports usually goes through Form M and the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), said agents have to go through a commercial bank to pay their Customs duty before any clearance process can be done.

He said if the banking system or network is down, it will be impossible for Customs duty to be paid and that container will remain in the port accumulating rent which comes with storage and demurrage payments.

According to him, prices of goods may soar if the situation persists as cargo owners spend more for clearance if their containers spend longer time in the ports.

Preferring solutions, he called on government to introduce ‘compensatory law’ where importers are given waivers when delays to their cargoes inside the ports is not from them.

Also, haulage operators bemoaned the effect of the various banking migrations on picking of containers inside the ports.Persistent Service Disruptions In Banks Paralyze Activities At Ports, Many Cargoes Trapped

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Nigerian Businesses Face Tougher Times as PMI Drops to 19 Months Low of 46.9

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Business metrics - investors king

Nigerian businesses continued to face headwinds as the Purchasing Managers Index published by Stanbic IBTC shows a 19-month low. 

According to the report released on Friday, business conditions took a hit and PMI dipped from 49.8 points in September to 46.9 points, the steepest decline since March 2023.

For context, a PMI reading above 50 points indicates growth in business activity. Conversely, a reading below 50 points indicates contraction, suggesting deterioration consequent to an economic downturn.

According to the report, businesses faced pressures from the local currency weakening, higher fuel prices and increasing cost of transportation.

This has also forced the hands of businesses to increase prices to sustain operations, which the report stated has led to a reduction in new orders and business activity.

Most importantly, confidence in the business sector plummeted to the worst ever since the organisation started documenting PMI in 2014.

“Overall input costs rose at one of the sharpest rates on record, with selling prices increased accordingly. This resulted in marked reductions in new orders and business activity, while business sentiment was the lowest in the survey’s history,” the report read in part.

A positive light in the report was that some companies managed to add a few new hires, extending a six-month trend of job creation. The downside to this was that the companies employed these staff on a short-term basis.

The report also stated that companies are making efforts, now more than ever, to help their staff stay afloat in the current economic situation.

“Meanwhile, efforts to help workers with rising living costs meant that staff pay was increased to the greatest extent in seven months,” the report added.

Metrics like the private sector output, volume of orders, and quantities of purchases made by customers all recorded steeper values than they did in September.

Trends showed that prices, cost of staff maintenance and input prices, on the other hand, recorded very sharp increases, with some metrics posting record hikes since March 2023.

Inflation in the general Nigerian macro environment is telling in every quarter and businesses are not exempt.

Analysts told Investors King that special interventions will help ease the pressure on companies, but warned that risky conditions attached to these measures may scare off firms from accepting them.

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