Nigeria won’t pay gasoline subsidy to local importers supplied by Noble Group, a Singapore-based commodities trader backed by China’s sovereign wealth fund, citing discrepancies in the company’s shipping documents, an official said.

 

“Noble failed to substantiate observations raised about a bill of lading on Maersk Privilege vessel sold to six importers in Nigeria which contravened provisions for subsidy payments as pointed out by our internal control,” Gbenga Komolafe, general manager operations of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, said today in an interview in Abuja, the capital. He did not give details of what the observations were.

 

An official answering the phone at Noble’s London office referred queries to a spokesman in Hong Kong and a call to that office and an e-mail to the person were not immediately answered.