From Mathias Okwe, Abuja

The other two enterprises up for sale today are the Steyr Motor Nigeria Limited, Bauchi and the Nigeria Machine Tools Limited, Oshogbo.

According to a statement by the Head of Public Communications of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Anichebe Ochigbo, the two telecommunication giants can only participate in the sale if they are ready to forfeit their existing licences.

The statement said opening of bids for the three enterprises will hold this morning at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja from 10.00 a.m.

The government is divesting 51 per cent of its equity holding in NITEL/M-TEL.

The BPE had originally pre-qualified six firms for the enterprise's sale. They included: MTN Group of South Africa; Telkom/Vodacom Consortium also of South Africa; Celtel International B.V and Huwei/Jacuz Consortium as well as V- Mobile Group.

The NCC action may be to guard against market dominance and monopoly. It, however, said the companies could be allowed to participate in NITEL/M-TEL only if they are willing to forfeit their existing licences.

The statement read in part: "The NCC has given an indication that it is not inclined to approve the sale of NITEL/Mtel to existing Nigerian mobile licence holders unless they are willing to forfeit their existing licences. This move, according to NCC, is designed to maximise competition in the industry and prevent the negative implications of market dominance by an over-bearing operator".

NCC argued that this arrangement will ensure the "success of the privatisation programme and not compromise the competitive environment.''

The commission added that a situation where a bidder, considered to hold a significant share in the industry, attempts to acquire another licence by means of the privatisation programme, will have the effect of lessening the competition in the industry and may ultimately lead to the creation of monopoly.

The statement declared: "As you are aware, the role of NCC is to facilitate market entry and promote fair competition in the sector. The commission has the exclusive right, under the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003 to determine, pronounce upon and enforce compliance of all persons with competition laws and regulations as they relate to the communications market.

"The Commission also has the right to issue licences to operators and the licences have several provisions and conditions that must be fulfilled by the operators to ensure competitive environment and a level playing field for all operators". One of such conditions, according to NCC, is that the "commission must give written approval before a licencee can transfer or assign its licence and the commission has absolute discretion to grant or refuse such approval, hence the BPE approached the regulator for guidance on the issue.''

The BPE had planned to conclude the privatisation of NITEL this year and hand it over to a core investor.

But the transaction process had been dogged by controversy, including litigation which sought to bar the Federal Government from selling NITEL with the Nigeria SAT -3 infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the BPE yesterday said it has received N260 million from

Seaforce Shipping Company Limited, being 10 per cent deposit of the bid price for Nigerian Unity Line (NUL).

The payment, according to the bureau, was made on Friday, December 23, 2005 at the head office of the bureau. Mr. Kareem Otaru of Seaforce Limited presented the Zenith Bank Plc draft to BPE's acting director of transport and aviation, Mr. Kayode Khalidson.

In a statement, it said Khalidson commended Seaforce Limited for paying ahead of schedule and expressed the hope that the outstanding 90 per cent would be paid on time. The deadline for the payment of 10 per cent of the offer price is December 29, 2005. Seaforce has a deadline of January 30, 2006 to make the outstanding payment.

At the opening of bids for NUL on December 1, 2005, Seaforce a subsidiary of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, emerged the preferred bidder with an offer price of $20 million. The firm defeated two other bidders: Daddo - Frontline Shipping Co. and Pedmacgrek Shipping and Training International (PSTI) Ltd.

NUL is a public limited liability company wholly owned by the National Maritime Authority (NMA) on behalf of the Federal Government. It was incorporated on January 23, 1995 to serve as a model shipping line for the maritime industry after the liquidation of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) and to exploit the extensive opportunities that exist in the shipping sector.

As a national flag carrier, NUL is uniquely placed to become Nigeria's first indigenous company to participate in the transportation of crude cargo. It began operations in July 1996.

By its set up, NUL was required to undertake the following businesses:

* Deep sea transportation of wet cargo; Ocean transportation of bulk cargo; Coastal tanker services;

Storage and warehousing; Complete agency services; Freight forwarding; Customs clearance and others.
However, a special resolution led to the incorporation of NUL with the main objectives of engaging in shipping business as: Ship owners, operators, shipbrokers and chatterers and general shipping agents.

NUL has a share capital of N10 million. Its shareholding structure shows that National the NMA is holding three million ordinary shares while Maritime Shipping Lines Limited (Special Purpose Vehicle) on behalf of the Federal Government is holding two million ordinary shares.