Northern Ireland public companies have been a mixed bag ever since they took listings on the Dublin market and were included on the ISEQ index. There are the good: Viridian (NIE), Boxmore, Ulster TV and Galen; the moderate: Lamont and Ewart (before the takeover); and the horror stories in the shape of Mackie and Powerscreen.

So, it will be interesting to see how the market reacts to the planned flotation of Belfast Port. On the face of it, investing in infrastructure and utilities in Northern Ireland is an attractive proposition. Certainly, investors in Dublin have been quick to see the attractions of Viridian a quarter of the institutionally-held shares in Viridian are in the hands of Irish fund managers.

There will be no big public offering of shares, with lots of Ulster "Sids" investing in the port just as they did when NIE floated five years ago. A placed flotation of shares with the British government retaining a golden share to allow it veto increases in port charges ahead of inflation and to block a takeover, is the preferred option.

Given the experience of Viridian, Belfast Port is likely to take a listing on Dublin as well as on London. Given the port's profitability, passenger throughput and property assets, placing shares with institutions should present no problem.

Its 1,800 acres of property, the freehold of Belfast City Airport and the freehold of the Harland & Wolff shipyard, mean the company has sizeable assets. Pretax profits last year were £9 million sterling and the port is said to be worth £100 million£120 million.