Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing said yesterday that there has been an overwhelming reaction from the public to the offering of shares in the Arawak Cay Port Development Company (APD).
The sale of the shares to the public began on December 16, fulfilling a promise the Ingraham administration made to diversify port ownership in New Providence.
"People see this as an opportunity and lots of them are doing what's necessary to take advantage of it," said Laing in an interview at the Wyndham Nassau Resort yesterday.
"It is very encouraging to see [as] it is saving and investing versus spending."
There are one million shares available at a cost of $10 per share, reflecting a 20 percent stake in ownership of APD.
The government will own 40 percent of the shares and Arawak Cay Port Development Holdings Company will own 40 percent.
Some concerns have been raised about how the 20 percent public ownership will be represented in the future.
Laing advised yesterday that there should be no concerns about any sole investor gaining most of the shares available to the public.
APD Executive Director Mike Maura Jr. indicated recently that 80 percent of the available shares have already been applied for, but APD is using a bottom-up process, which will ensure that all applicants get a minimum amount of shares.
Ownership in the port can be attained at a minimum purchase of 50 shares and in increments of 25 shares thereafter.  The first 50 shares of each applicant will be honored first.
Although the minister could provide specifics on the amount of shares purchased or the number of public investors to date, he said that there "has been a very significant response".
He added that there are multiple benefits in making such a long-term investment and Bahamians should really take advantage of the opportunity.
"There are two benefits to investing - you get what we call capital appreciation, [which means] that over time your shares increase in value and so you might buy a share at $10, and two, three, four or five years later it will have a higher price attached to it," Laing noted.
"You get that value for yourself and so if you sell the shares later on you get that benefit, and then there is the dividends; so you can have both those things happening.  It is also certain that people could see that appreciation in a year [or] two years."
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has also encouraged members of the public to purchase shares.  He recently announced that the government will facilitate a "once-in-a-lifetime deal" to public servants by offering them salary advances to purchase ordinary shares in APD.
The maximum number of shares which may be purchased using the government salary advance facility will be 500, which will total $5,000.
Applications are available at any Colina Insurance office, CFAL, or Bank of The Bahamas branch.  They are also available online at www.nassaucontainerport.com.
The public sharing exercise will come to an end at 5 p.m. on January 31.

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