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### Viewing cable 02ABUJA2567, NIGERIA'S PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM: STATUS

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
02ABUJA2567 | 2002-09-03 15:55 | 2011-08-25 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Abuja

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ABUJA 002567

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE

    DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W AND AF/EPS
    DEPARTMENT ALSO PASS AID/WASHDC
    AID FOR AFR/AA AND AFR/W

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: EAID ECON EINV ECPS ENRG PGOV NI
    SUBJECT: NIGERIA'S PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM: STATUS
    REPORT

    -------------------------
    Introduction and Overview
    -------------------------

    l. (U) Nigeria's National Privatization Program is
    being carried out by the National Council for
    Privatization (NCP), and is implementing arm, the
    Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE). In phase one of the
    program, which ended in 2001, the BPE offered its own
    shares to the public in three banks, two cement, and
    five petroleum marketing enterprises

    ¶2. (U) Phase two started later in 2001 with the
    preparation of several major enterprises for sale. The
    controlling interest in Nigerdock, Nigeria's premier
    shipbuilding and offshore construction yard, was
    auctioned in November 2001. However, the winning
    bidders were unable to sustain their partnership
    agreement, and one of the buyers, an U.S. company, has
    withdrawn. NITEL, the state-owned telephone and
    telecommunications monopoly, was awarded to the
    highest qualified bidder in September 2001, but the
    winning core investors were unable to raise the
    necessary capital to honor their commitment to
    purchase 5.1% of NITEL. Details on the NITEL and
    Nigerdock transactions will follow. However, Festac
    77, a large hotel in Lagos, was successfully
    privatized.

    ¶3. (SBU) Currently, there are over 60 public
    enterprises designated for privatization, including
    flagship state-owned monopolies such as
    telecommunication (NITEL), electricity (NEPA), post,
    port services, railways, the petroleum refineries, and
    the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
    subsidiaries.  The workload of this latter series of
    transactions is enormous in terms of preparation,
    professional expertise, preparation of the companies,
    the due diligence process, the review and analysis of
    submitted bids, and the negotiation and closing of
    transactions. Progress made with the many enterprises
    awaiting privatization demonstrates the Executive
    branch's political will to advance privatization and
    the improved technical expertise of the BPE
    professional staff in shepherding complex
    privatization exercises.

    ¶4. (SBU) Nonetheless, privatization remains a
    controversial move in Nigeria. Among the general
    public and even within government, particularly the
    National Assembly, support is neither particularly
    wide nor deep. Some fear privatization is a ruse
    whereby cronies of the Administration are allowed to
    purchase government assets at discount rates. Others
    are apprehensive privatization will result in the loss
    of significant portions of the Nigerian patrimony to
    greedy foreigners. Still others question whether
    privatization will bring significant benefit given
    other growth-adverse dysfunctions in the economy that
    privatization cannot address.

    ¶5. (SBU) Privatization is viewed cautiously by senior
    government officials jealous of their control over
    parastatals and by employees who think privatization
    as synonymous with workforce reduction. Labor unions,
    especially, are opposed to privatization in almost
    every sector. Because of this lack of consensus, each
    sale faces strong opposition. Every successful sale
    will generate additional support and reduce the
    decibels of privatization's critics. However, when
    sales fall through, even due to circumstances beyond
    the control of BPE, as with the NITEL and Nigerdock
    bids, the proficiency of BPE and utility of
    privatization will be attacked.  In short, despite the
    BPE's improved capacity and ambitious schedule,
    Nigerians will remain divided over privatization until
    they see some material benefit. End Introduction and
    Overview.

    -------------
    BPE and USAID
    -------------

    ¶6. (U) USAID has provided assistance to the BPE since
    May 2000, and the Mission expects to continue its
    support until November 2002. The primary objective of
    the USAID-funded project is to provide technical
    assistance and training to the BPE. USAID's assistance
    has greatly strengthened BPE's institutional and
    professional capabilities and has enabled the
    Director-General to transform BPE into an institution
    that can carry out transactions in a professional,
    transparent manner.

    ¶7. (U) USAID-funded assistance has been instrumental
    in moving the privatization process forward. BPE has
    made progress in public offers and core investor
    sales, as well as in due diligence work in the form of
    "diagnostic reviews". The importance and early
    progress in privatization made by BPE and the
    transparency of its procedures led to a $114 million
    low interest loan from the World Bank to support
    Nigeria's privatization effort.

    ¶8. (U) In addition to privatization transactions, the
    BPE is helping to develop the legal and institutional
    infrastructure needed to insure that newly privatized
    firms will operate under more competitive market
    structures.  BPE is also working on other appropriate
    institutional arrangements that will improve the
    efficiency of resource use and aid in Nigeria's
    economic growth. For example, USAID-funded expatriate
    advisors and the core team are working in such areas
    as privatization procedures and methods, domestic and
    international procurement processes, public awareness,
    labor policies, environmental issues, anti-trust
    legislation and regulation, pension reform, and legal
    and policy reform leading to the eventual
    establishment of regulators for electricity,
    telecommunications, and transport (Air, Rail and
    Ports).

    ¶9. (U) Notwithstanding the progress made, the Director
    General of BPE recently decided accelerating the pace
    of privatization, required steps to increase the level
    of accountability within the organization. On July 1,
    he re-organized the Bureau into six Departments, each
    responsible for the privatization of enterprises in a
    given sector of the economy. It is expected that the
    result will be a fairly marked increase in the number
    of public enterprises privatized.

    ¶10. (U) The latest internal plans for BPE call for
    over 20 enterprises to be privatized by the end of
    2002; it is anticipated that more than 30 will be
    privatized in 2003.  Following is a synopsis and
    evaluation of the major privatizations carried out by
    the BPE so far, and the conclusions we have drawn from
    their performance.

    --------------------------
    Telecommunications (NITEL)
    --------------------------

    ¶11. (U) The privatization of NITEL is widely viewed as
    unsuccessful because the sale was not consummated.
    However, the technical privatization was
    professionally managed. The failure was mostly due to
    three factors: the financial downturn in the world
    telecommunications industry, which prevented major
    international bidders from participating,; the lack of
    new regulatory legislation for the telecommunications
    sector, which has been under review in the National
    Assembly for a year; and the inability of the winning
    bidder to secure from financial markets the $1.38
    billion purchase price their group had committed for
    51 percent of NITEL.  The Chief of Party of the USAID
    project providing technical support to BPE concluded
    that with respect to transparency and efficiency of
    the privatization process, the privatization of NITEL
    was a major success. The procedures followed the
    criteria used for selection were publicly advertised
    domestically and internationally and were well
    understood by all participants. Documentation
    requirements were set forth clearly, establishing a
    technical threshold that prospective bidders had to
    satisfy in order to be pre-qualified to bid.  The pre-
    qualified investors submitted technical and financial
    proposals for review pursuant to selection criteria
    which were established and made known well in advance,
    so that no accusations of favoritism or corruption
    could be leveled at the BPE. Review of the technical
    proposals adhered to the highest standards acceptable
    in the investment banking profession. The legal and
    procedural requirements for bidding were very clearly
    and publicly stated and the bid opening was accessible
    to the public.

    ¶12. (U) It is not unusual for privatization
    transactions to fail to close, often due to the
    inability of a winning bidder to raise sufficient
    capital to close the deal. Despite the setback, BPE
    has not surrendered on privatizing NITEL. Next steps
    in the NITEL privatization process will be to offer
    about l5 percent of the shares to the public in an
    Initial Public Offering (IPO) before the end of 2002.
    A professional management contractor is being
    recruited to run NITEL on an interim basis until the
    global telecom market returns to financial health, at
    which time a core investor will again be sought.

    ---------
    NIGERDOCK
    ---------

    ¶13. (U) The core investor sale of Nigerdock was
    successfully concluded with the execution of a Share
    Sale/Purchase Agreement concluded December 20, 2001
    with Global Energy Company (GEC), the successful core
    investor.  As part of the terms of the Agreement, a
    minimum of 25% of the core investor shares was to have
    been sold to Houston-based J. Ray McDermott Inc.
    (JRM), a U.S. firm and the foreign technical partner
    to GEC.

    ¶14. (U) A separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
    was executed by GEC and JRM and a transitional period
    of six months commenced in January 2002.  Recently,
    however, J. Ray McDermott withdrew from Nigerdock
    claiming that Global Energy did not abide by the
    Agreement between them. GEC has taken the case to
    court and is currently seeking a new technical partner
    to replace JRM. The BPE intends to sell 29% of its
    remaining 49% in Nigerdock in an Initial Public
    Offering (IPO). It is planned that the issue will
    close by the end of 2002 with shares being distributed
    early in 2003.

    ------------------
    Electricity (NEPA)
    ------------------

    ¶15. (U) The reform program for the power sector
    comprises preparation and adoption of a new
    electricity law; creation of a power sector regulatory
    agency; creation and operation of a new Electricity
    Supply Industry including the unbundling of the state-
    owned national electric supply utility, NEPA, into
    separate generation, transmission and distribution
    entities; privatization of multiple generation and
    distribution units as separate limited liability
    companies; and, finally, creation of a fund and an
    agency to focus on rural energy and assistance to
    consumers.

    ¶16. (U) Currently, the BPE is at the closing stages of
    hiring consultants to undertake these tasks. The
    preferred consultants include Credit Suisse First
    Boston and the Spanish/Latin American firm, Mereados
    Energeticos. At this point, the corporate
    restructuring blueprint has been prepared and
    preparations for implementation are being made. Also,
    the lobbying of the National Assembly to pass the
    Electric Power Sector Reform Bill has been
    intensified. This is being done along with an enhanced
    public communications campaign that includes the use
    of various media to win the support of the Nigerian
    public and road shows to report on reform efforts and
    secure the long-term interest of foreign investors and
    operators.

    ¶17. (U) By the end of 2002, it is expected that the
    following would have been completed with respect to
    NEPA: the establishment of 18 new legal/physical
    business units and a special purpose entity (to take
    over and pay off NEPA's stranded liabilities);
    drafting of market rules for the transition stage; a
    comprehensive due diligence audit of NEPA; substantial
    completion of the physical establishment of the
    regulatory agency and the hiring of executive and
    senior staff, and a Draft Rural Energy Policy and the
    setting up of the Rural Energy and Consumer Assistance
    Funds.

    ¶18. (U) Although challenging, it is anticipated that
    BPE will be able to achieve these objectives and will
    then be in a position to complete the restructuring
    process and commence the privatization of the
    resulting distribution and generation enterprises,
    most of which may well be completed by the end of
    ¶2003.

    ------
    Hotels
    ------

    ¶19. (U) The Nicon Hilton (NIRMSCO) and the Sheraton
    (Capital Hotels Plc) Hotels are in the very final
    stages of privatization with respect to the
    controlling interest. For offer is 51% of each, with
    the balance to be sold to the public through IPO's.
    Potential investors have applied, been short-listed,
    performed due diligence, submitted technical proposals
    and financial bids and have had their technical
    proposals assessed.

    ¶20. (U) The next step, the public opening of the bids,
    was completed on August 14, and African Properties
    Nigeria, Ltd.'s (led by Co-investor Southern Sun
    Hotels of South Africa) bid of $ 62 million for the
    Nicon Hilton and Hans Gremlin Nigeria, Ltd.'s bid of $
    32 million for the Sheraton were declared the winners.
    Therefore, both privatizations are at the final stage,
    awaiting closing of the sale. One lingering problem
    with the Hilton has been the union's insistence that a
    new collective agreement should be negotiated prior to
    the sale. This is opposed by the BPE which insisted
    from the beginning that a new agreement must be signed
    with the new owner.

    ----------
    Conclusion
    ----------

    ¶21. (U) Amid the up-and-downs of the first two years
    of Nigeria's privatization program, the emergence of
    BPE as an effective privatization organization is
    significant. Any privatization program needs to have a
    strong and credible system put into place in order to
    be effective. The prospective investors, particularly
    international investors, require such procedures in
    order to review any potential purchases, or
    to even start the expensive and time-consuming due
    diligence process. In a country where corruption is
    common, Nigeria's privatization program needed this
    kind of operational and procedural credibility to
    demonstrate its commitment to privatization, and to
    attract prospective investors.

    ¶20. (U) The BPE appears committed to ensuring
    transparency and is following recently established
    procurement and privatization procedures that meet
    world standards. These procedures govern the selection
    of advisors, potential investors and winning bidders.
    The transaction process itself is clearly laid out in
    writing, with criteria available to the public, as
    well as to prospective advisers and investors. BPE has
    cause to assert that it runs a privatization program
    that can withstand the scrutiny of any investor or
    arbiter of standards, procedures, and effectiveness.

    ¶21. (SBU) Still, while privatization is one of
    President Obasanjo's top economic reform priorities
    and BPE has actively pursued it, there is significant
    political opposition. Privatization is not viewed as
    an unalloyed benefit by many Nigerians, even within
    government. After years of military rule, many people
    have statist mindsets and look warily at private
    sector control over key industries and utilities. Even
    among those favoring privatization, the GON program
    has its critics. Some complain the program is moving
    too fast, selling the wrong companies at the wrong
    time, such as with NITEL when the sale took place
    after world telecom prices had plummeted. These
    critics say that lauding the technical correctness of
    a sale offers little comfort when the sale comes at a
    bad time economically.

    ¶22. (SBU) While the honesty of the actual bid process
    may not be hotly disputed, some observers challenge
    the selection of enterprises that are being
    privatized.  BPE has been accused of rushing the sale
    of the National Mint because a close relative of
    President Obasanjo, in concert with relatives of
    Kenyan President Moi, may be interested in the
    purchase. Some people also fear that privatization of
    the larger parastatals is being rushed in order to
    maximize revenues while it would have been more
    prudent to follow a more deliberate sequencing that
    moved from smaller to large firms, and an even more
    measured approach to "national interest" companies
    such as NITEL and NEPA. Another profound question is
    whether privatization is outpacing other reform
    efforts. Without sufficient reform in other areas, the
    enabling environment may be insufficient. It is feared
    that all privatization may accomplish is to turn a
    moribund state company into an equally inefficient
    private concern.

    ¶23. (U) In the end, Nigerians will judge the utility
    of privatization by whether the exercise results in
    better performance and a more vibrant economy. As much
    as possible, we need to continue working with the BPE
    to further enhance its work and to help Nigeria see
    that privatization is not just an abstraction, nor a
    ploy for foreign control of the economy, but that it
    provides real economic benefit, to the Nigerian
    people.
    JETER

`