Kunle Kalejaye
31 January 2017 Sweetcrude, Lagos — Three months after successfully acquiring ExxonMobil’s 60 percent stake in Mobil Oil, NIPCO Plc has been urged to get enlisted on Nigeria Stock Exchange, NSE.
NSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema made the call on Monday during a courtesy visit to NIPCO’s head office in Lagos.
Onyema said enlisting on the NSE would give NIPCO more credibility and attract more shareholders to the company.
“There are so many benefits attached to companies that are listed on the NSE, we urge NIPCO to embrace being listed on the NSE.
“One of the benefits is the flexibility to raise capital to help in enhancing corporate governance, to make it easier to raise funds in the banking industry, to give sustainability in terms of raising funds among others benefit,” Onyema said.
The NSE boss also commended NIPCO for the bold step taken to initiate, implement and execute the 60 percent acquisition of the stake in Mobil Oil Nigeria.
“An industry that is expanding and impact greatly on the growth of the oil and gas sector like NIPCO needs to be commended for growing the sector and boosting the local content development.
“It is a great deal for Nigerian to own an investment company. So we think it is a good development for the company, it also gives great potential for an indigenous company to get global visibility.
The NSE boss added: “We are indeed impressed with NIPCO’s track record on safety and how serious they take adherence to safety standards.
“I must say that we are in pressed with NIPCO‘s strategic positioning post acquisition of the MOBIL entity. As you know, the MOBIL brand will run as a separate entity from the NIPCO brand,” he said.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of NIPCO, Mr Venkataraman Venkatapathy reiterated that the company was incorporated by members of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in 2001 as a Private Limited Liability Company to participate in the distribution of White Petroleum Products in all the nooks and crannies of the nation.
Commenting on the 60 percent MON acquisition Venkatapathy said: “NIPCO considers this acquisition an important synergy. It is part of our strategic move to support NIPCO’s continuous growth and expansion of its Nigerian retail footprint.
“We are confident of adding tremendous value to MON and likewise MON will add huge value to NIPCO.
“In furtherance of this value addition, NIPCO will continue to maintain the Mobil brand on its retail outlets as well as continue to blend and sell the Mobil brand of lubricants under branding licence(s) from ExxonMobil,” Ventakapathy explained.
“We wish to give every assurance to ExxonMobil that having entrusted us with this invaluable asset (MON), we will ensure full brand compliance with ExxonMobil’s global standards as well as rigorously sustain and follow ExxonMobil’s code of conduct/ethos and operational excellence,” he added.