A new company has bought the asset and liabilities of the Nigerian embattled global logistics service provider; Panalpina World Transport (PWT) which recently closed its business interests in Nigeria following allegations of large scale bribery scandal.
The new company, Worlwide Premier Logistics ahs reportedly taken over the Apapa corporate head office of PWT and began staff reshufflement, retrenchment and employment of new capable hands.
Shipping Position Weekly confirmed that Panalpina had prior to getting Worldwide to buy, decided to put its expansive business premises, physical assets and other valuables in Nigeria up for sale.
Panalpina is a global logistics service provider, especially in the oil industry in Nigeria, where even in the face of sustained agitation by indigenous competitors, it had enjoyed plum patronages.
But the company’s woes started in January, 2008 when allegation when the United States America government blew the lid on a case of a huge bribe allegedly paid to the Nigeria Customs Service officials by Panalpina World Transport Limited.
Investigators in the United States had alleged that a $2 million bribe was paid by Panalpina on behalf of Vetco International Limited; an oil and gas company based in Britain, to Customs officials in Nigeria so as to charge lower duties and tariffs on goods brought into the country by Vetco.
Not long after that the Nigeria Customs also suspended the operational licence that it had given to Panalpina to operate freight for warding business in Nigeria. Sine then, it has been difficult for the global company to remain afloat, a development which culminated in the decision to vacate Nigeria.
Shipping Position Weekly also discovered that one of the first to terminate business dealings with Panalpina is China Shipping company for which the later Had acted as shipping agent for years.
Industry sources disclosed last week that China Shipping has engaged a Nigerian company; Comet as its new agent.
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