The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Dangote

  • Dangote Plans Over $10bn Investment in Africa’s Power Sector

    Dangote Plans Over $10bn Investment in Africa’s Power Sector

    Precious Nwonu, Enugu

    President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to invest more than $10bn in Africa’s power sector over the next three to four years as part of efforts to address the continent’s electricity shortage.

    Dangote disclosed this in an interview with Al Jazeera published on Monday, stressing that reliable electricity supply was essential to Africa’s economic and industrial development.

    According to the billionaire businessman, the planned investment is part of a broader strategy aimed at driving significant economic transformation across the continent.

    He said the group was considering redirecting funds from some business ventures, including a possible steel project, towards investments in electricity generation and related infrastructure.

    “We want to invest over $10 billion alone in power,” Dangote said.

    He expressed concern over the number of Africans still without access to electricity, saying more than 600 million people across the continent remain without power.

    Dangote described the situation as unacceptable and argued that expanding access to reliable electricity should be a major priority for African governments and businesses.

    “It is something that we Africans should not really allow. Over 600 million of our people to remain in darkness,” he said.

    The Dangote Group president also linked electricity supply to the ability of governments to promote economic growth and improve living standards.

    He argued that political leaders who deliver reliable electricity and other essential services would have less difficulty convincing voters of their performance during election periods.

    Dangote maintained that power remains a fundamental requirement for industrialisation, economic expansion and job creation.

    “Power is key. We will never, ever create growth without power,” he said.

    He added, “That’s why they say, power is growth.”

    The planned investment comes amid persistent electricity supply challenges across several African countries, where inadequate generation capacity and infrastructure continue to constrain industrial and economic activities.

  • Dangote Refinery Sets N5,250 Minimum for Public Share Subscription

    Dangote Refinery Sets N5,250 Minimum for Public Share Subscription

    Aliko Dangote, Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, has said investors can subscribe to the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE with a minimum of 10 ordinary shares, worth N5,250.

    Dangote disclosed this on Monday during the signing ceremony for the refinery’s IPO at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.He said the offering comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares, each with a nominal value of $0.000013, at an offer price of N525 per share.“In this IPO, we intend to raise just a bit more than N2 trillion, which I’m sure is too small, at an offer price of N525 naira, with a minimum subscription of only 10 shares to fund our expansion of the refinery,” he said.Dangote explained that the funds would be used not only to finance the refinery’s expansion but also to give a broad range of Nigerians the opportunity to become shareholders in the company.

    He said the offer was designed to enable “drivers, our cooks, our servants, our managers, and everybody” to own a stake in the refinery.

    According to him, the investment would also provide subscribers with an opportunity to build their future savings through ownership of shares in the company.

    The Dangote Group CEO described the public offer as “the IPO for the people”.

    The IPO is expected to fund the refinery’s expansion while widening public participation in ownership of one of Nigeria’s largest industrial assets. The Nation

  • Dangote Industries Lists N200bn Bonds On Nigerian Exchange

    Dangote Industries Lists N200bn Bonds On Nigerian Exchange

    Dangote Industries Limited, yesterday listed N200 billion series 1 and 2 Bonds on Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

    At the Closing Gong Ceremony commemorating the listing of the bond held at the Exchange in Lagos, the Group chief executive officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Olakunle Alake expressed delight upon the completion of the listing of the firm’s bonds on the Exchange.

    Alake, who was represented by the Group chief finance officer, Mallam Mustapha Ibrahim said: “we are pleased to have showcased the depth and liquidity of the domestic capital market whilst we reflect the strong quality of the issuer, despite the current global market realities.”

    According to Ibrahim, the depth of the market reflected in the successful issuance of the bond, which was the largest aggregate local currency bond issued in the capital market so far, within the year.

    He further noted that the listing of the bond recorded participation from a wide range of investors including domestic pension funds, asset managers and insurance companies and further demonstrates investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s credit reality.

    The Divisional head, Capital Markets, NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, applauded the listing of the bond which provides corporates the opportunity to raise capital, saying “the listing of this transaction on our platform not only allows for a more liquid capital market, but it also shows our capacity to facilitate large transactions towards enabling a more robust ecosystem.”

    He further noted that NGX remains committed to fostering similar transactions through our digital gateway such as this and a confident market where corporates and investors can achieve their respective objectives.

    Dangote Industries integrated conglomerate with vibrant operations in Nigeria and Africa across a wide range of sectors including cement, sugar, salt, condiments, packaging, energy, port operations, fertilizer, and petrochemicals. Its core business focus is to provide local, value-added products and services that meet the ‘basic needs’ of the populace through the construction and operation of large scale manufacturing facilities in Nigeria and across Africa.

    It is focused on building local manufacturing capacity to generate employment, reduce capital flight and increase local value addition.

    (Leadership)

  • Dangote buys 400 trucks assembled in Enugu

    Dangote Group has taken delivery of 400 Shacman trucks assembled in Enugu, Nigeria.

     

    Transit Support Services Limited, assembler of Shacman vehicles in Nigeria, said this in a statement.

     

    The statement issued by Head of the Public Relations and Media at the Transit Support Services Limited, Iyere Ikhide, added that so far the Dangote Group had bought about 4,000 units of the truck from them since the entry of the brand into the country in 2016.

     

    It stated that the Dangote-Shacman partnership led to the resuscitation of the ANAMMCO plant in Enugu.

     

    It described Dangote as the biggest customer of the Enugu-based auto assembler, noting that the partnership had resulted in provision of more jobs for many youths; rejuvenation of the Onne Port in Rivers State and the attendant economic benefits.

     

    The statement read in part, “Following the partnership deal and commitments to quality, the biggest customer of Shacman brand in Nigeria, Dangote Group, has taken delivery of additional 400 units of Shacman trucks.

     

    “Dangote Group has since the entrance of Shacman vehicles into the Nigeria market through Transit Support Services Limited as Shacman Nigeria six years ago bought over 3,500 units of the brand.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • National Assembly moves to reduce Price Of Cement

     

    A move to cut the skyrocketing costs of cement began yesterday at the National Assembly. The Senate urged the Federal Government to introduce liberal policies to stimulate more investment in the manufacturing of the product.

     

    The upper chamber said such policies should include provision of industrial and larger tax incentives to encourage local investments in cement production in Nigeria.

     

    The resolution was sequel to the consideration of a motion titled: “Need for liberalisation of cement policy in Nigeria”, sponsored by Senator Ashiru Oyelola Yisa and five others.

     

    The co-sponsors of the motion are: Senators Muhammad Enagi Bima (Niger South); Adelere Adeyemi Oriolowo (Osun West); Samuel Egwu (Ebonyi North); Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) and Michael Nnachi (Ebonyi South).

     

    In his lead debate, Senator Yisa identified cement as one of the few building materials in which Nigeria enjoys self-sufficiency.

     

    Yisa said: “As at 2018, the installed capacity of cement producers was about 47.8 million metric tonnes (MMT) which is far above the estimated (2018) consumption of about 20.7MMT.

     

    “Yet, the prices of cement in Nigeria- (N380) – is about 240 per cent higher than the global average.

     

    “Cognizant that cement takes a large share of domestic expenditure and the price of each commodity significantly impacts the government’s ability to provide much-needed infrastructural works required for the growth of our economy.

     

    “Further cognizant that the recent increase in price of cement (from N2, 600 to N3, 800) slowed down the amount of construction work being embarked upon, thus negatively affecting labour engagement and almost collapsed the procurement plan of the governments in 2020 Appropriation Act.

     

     

    “Mindful that the Nigerian cement market is oligopolistic in nature with three players (Dangote Cement (60.6 per cent); Lafarge Africa Plc (21.8 per cent) and BUA Group (17.6 per cent), largely dominating the scene therefore making it susceptible to price fixing practices.

     

    “I am convinced that if the status quo persists, the negative consequences of high prices on the economy will outweigh the benefits of producing cement locally.

     

    “We should be worried that the significant rise in cement prices in the country and the low purchasing power of Nigerians may result in substandard building constructions and non-completion of planned infrastructural works.

     

    “It’s strongly believed that there is an urgent need to encourage more local production of cement to satisfy the demands of Nigeria with a steady growth rate of approximately three per cent per annum; a housing deficit of 30 million units and less engagement of over 10.5 million workforce of the building and construction industry.

     

    “It’s further strongly believed that unfavourable government policies such as imposition of multiple taxes, erratic power supply, government ban on importation in violation of ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and subsequent lifting of importation in favour of few producers have negative implications on the growth of our infrastructures.”

     

    In its resolution, the Senate called on the Federal Government to provide more industrial incentives and industrial protections, such as concessionary loans and huge tax incentives for new entrants in order to boost production of cements, reduce price and encourage  more valuable producers in Nigeria.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.thenationonlineng.net

  • CBN Governor hails Dangote on his $500m Sugar Project.

     

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Thursday disclosed that wheat and sugar would soon be added to the foreign exchange (forex) import exclusion list in line with government’s effort to conserve forex and promoting local production that will ultimately lead to job creation. Emefiele’s position is coming on the heels of commendations for the President of Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote, over his $500 million sugar plantation project, which sits atop a 60,000 hectares of land in Awe, Nasarawa State.

     

     

     

    Speaking after visiting the plantation in company of the Nasarawa State Governor, Mr Abdullahi Sule, and Dangote, Emefiele said the project was consistent with government’s backward integration blueprint in producing various consumables in-the country.

     

    According to him, the government can no longer spend about $1 billion annually on sugar importation, when the commodity can be grown in the country.

     

    He said: “Visiting a site like this with 60,000 hectares of land, we can say it’s a very big project. It’s incomparable to any one we’ve seen. This one is four to five times bigger than a sugar project in Sunti, Niger State, commisioned about two years ago.

     

     

     

    “It’s important we thank the state government for providing the land. By the time this factory kicks off, it’ll create jobs for the people of the state and increase their revenue. It’s going to improve the economic viability of the state. “In line with the pronouncement of Mr President that we should produce what we eat, we are saying that Nigeria can produce sugar and be self sufficient in food production. This is something that we should support. That is the reason we’ve decided to give credence to the backward integration projects of the Federal Government.

     

    “We’ve seen that this location is well suited for the project and some of the equipment are already here. We will provide not only the naira or some of the naira because Dangote is a big man and has equity he’s contributing to the project, we will p rovide the forex.”

  • Dangote’s $500m sugar plant to create 150,000 jobs

    The proposed $500 million Dangote sugar processing plant in Awe, Nasarawa State will save Nigeria some $1 billion and create more than 150,000 jobs.

     

    President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said they have acquired 60,000 hectares of land in Awe, Nasarawa State to grow “up to one third of Nigeria’s sugar consumption, which is almost a million tonnes”.

     

    He said the initial investment for this project was about $480-500 million noting that the CBN will provide support to make it a reality.

     

    The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN is working to include sugar and wheat on the list of commodities that will be banned accessing foreign exchange (FX).

     

    CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele made this disclosure on Thursday in Awe, Nasarawa state when he went on an inspection tour of the proposed $500 million Dangote sugar processing facility.

     

    According to Emefiele, “we are looking at sugar and wheat. We started a programme on milk about two years ago, eventually, these products will go into our FX restriction list.

     

    He declared that the CBN “will provide not only the naira or some of the naira because Dangote is a big man and has equity he’s contributing to the project.

     

    “Hopefully, within the next two years, we will provide that support. That is our interest here to reduce reliance on importation” he said.

     

    CBN’s decision to include sugar and wheat on the FX restriction list he said is because “we spend $600m to $1 billion importing sugar into the country annually”.

     

     

    Before adding the commodities to the FX restriction list, the CBN Governor said they “want to see to what extent we see the traction that is coming from those who are currently importing these items”.

     

    He noted that “we must all work together to produce these goods in Nigeria rather than import them”.

     

    On how much CBN was supporting the project with, he said “we have made up our mind on how much we’ll put but of course as you heard from Dangote, the project is worth about $500 million. If you convert that to naira, you know how much that is. I know he’s going to commit some equities to it. From there, we will determine what is the shortfall and we will come in through intervention through the banks for whatever loan that is required for this”.

     

    According to Emefiele, “of course, foreign currency will be provided as long as it is for the importation of equipment for the project through the banks, for whatever loans that is required for this as long as it is for importation of equipment and we will gradually begin to restrict foreign exchange to those who want to import sugar until we achieve this result”.

     

    Dangote stated that they have “a very good relationship with the community and stakeholders. This project as you see it, will produce a lot of jobs and as a matter of fact, we have to bring a lot of people outside of this areas into the project to help in terms of employment. We’re talking about thousands of jobs direct and indirect jobs, more than 150,000 jobs”.

     

    The sugar processing project he said has a lot of potentials. According to him, “we will also do power generation and ethanol from sugar”.

     

    To the state, “if this place is up and running, I do not think there will be shortage of power in Nasarawa State. We will be having excess of 90mw of power” Dangote said.

     

    The project he pointed out “is not just for us to make money from the sugar refinery, but boost economy”

     

    Speaking on the implication of the project to the stability of the Naira, Aliko Dangote stated that “Emefiele is not just a Governor of CBN but also a developmental Governor because he is not just looking at the monetary policy, he is also looking at what he can do to support the naira like this sort of initiative.

     

    He has a problem today meeting up with the demands of import. Supporting projects like this, going forward, the naira in your hands will be very strong. We have quite a lot that we’re doing here”.

     

    With regards to the sugar project, Dangote said they are “targeting about half a million tonnes but right now, we’re talking about 250 million tonnes and that is worth about N450 billion”.

     

    “You can only create 100 million jobs target of the federal government through this kind of project” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.thenationonlineng.net

  • Dangote completes the construction of Nigeria’s longest rigid pavement located in Kogi State

    The Dangote Group says it has completed Nigeria’s longest rigid pavement located in Kogi State.According to a statement issued by the group on Sunday, the 43KM Obajana-Kabba road constructed by Dangote Industries Limited, has been described by motorists as the country’s most strategic highway aiding travellers between the North and the South.

     

    The Project Director, Olatunbosun Kalejaiye, expressed his excitement on the completion of the Corporate Social Responsibility Project to be used by Nigerians, adding that while the rigid pavement had been completed, the company was dressing the shoulders.

     

    Site Engineer, Samuel Obosi, assured that the dual carriage way would be durable and less susceptible to potholes and repairs like asphalt road.

     

    He added that it would crash the rate of road accidents in the country.

    The Bajana of Obajana Land, King Idowu Senibi, described the project as gigantic and the first of its kind anywhere in Nigeria.

     

    “This is a great opportunity for us and many generations to come. Our society will be opened as you can see vehicles and commercial activities have started coming up. May God Almighty bless Dangote and all his staff,” he stated.

     

    Speaking in the same vein, the traditional head of Akpata Land, Frederick Balogun, said his people were very proud of Aliko Dangote, adding that the Dangote Cement Obajana plant had brought honour and respect to their kingdoms.

     

    The King of Okebunku Land in Kabba Bunu Local Government, Timothy Omonile, also noted that the construction of the road had helped cut down the criminality rate in the state.

     

    He commended the president of the Dangote Group and charged other philanthropists to emulate him, adding that that was the only way Nigeria could develop its economy a nd infrastructure.

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Forbes : Dangote’s networth drops by $900m within 24 hours

     

    The President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, saw his total net worth drop by $900m on Friday as his flagship company emerged the biggest loser at the end of trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people, showed that his wealth fell from $18.4bn on Thursday to $17.5bn on Friday, making him the 114th wealthiest man in the world, down from 106th the previous day.

    Dangote’s net worth had risen from $15.5bn on December 13 to close the year 2020 at $17.8bn. It further gained $600m in the first seven days of 2021, but lost all of it and more last Friday.

    The share price of Dangote Cement Plc, the country’s biggest listed company and Africa’s largest cement producer, tumbled by 8.13 per cent to close at N225 on Friday from N244.90 on Thursday.

    Dangote was the only Nigerian on the list of 500 billionaires and retained his position as Africa’s richest person as of Friday.

    “The majority of Dangote’s fortune is derived from his 86 per cent stake in publicly traded Dangote Cement. He holds the shares in the company directly and through his conglomerate, Dangote Industries,” Bloomberg said.

    His most valuable closely held asset is a fertiliser plant with capacity to produce up to 2.8 million tonnes of urea annually, according to the international news agency.

    “A $12bn oil refinery that is currently being developed in Nigeria isn’t included in the valuation because it’s not yet operational and construction costs are calculated to outweigh its current value,” it said.

     

     

    Source : www.punchng.com