The Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Olukayode Pitan, has advised the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to adopt a single digit interest rate on the financing of vessel in order to grow the sector.
Pitan made this disclosure at the weekend when he paid a courtesy call on the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. “We are proposing a partnership with NIMASA on vessel financing. We already have a similar partnership with NCDMB that is currently running at a single digit of 8%, with little or zero risk for NCDMB since the fund invested by NCDMB is guaranteed by BOI.
This model, we think, can also benefit NIMASA and the entire maritime sector.” BOI said it will work out modalities on financing the acquisition of vessels at a single digit interest rate; provision of guarantee for the funds that NIMASA will entrust to BOI; and management of the portfolio to guarantee effectiveness.
NIMASA DG, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, said the meeting with NIMASA was a follow up to the Agency’s efforts to ensure that Nigerian players are competitive in the global maritime arena. He said, “We know that maritime asset financing is one of the major challenges of this industry and we are tackling it head-on. In no distant future our people would be able to reap the benefits of our strategy.”
