Aliko Dangote is planning to list shares of his $20 billion oil refinery on multiple African stock exchanges, in what could become a landmark cross-border public offering on the continent.
According to Bloomberg, the plan was disclosed by Frank Mwiti, Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, following a meeting held last week in Lagos between Dangote and heads of African exchanges.
In December last year, Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited, unveiled plans to list a 10% stake in his $20 billion refinery on the Nigerian Exchange this year.
What they are saying
According to the Bloomberg report citing an email from Ukandu Ukandu, FirstCap Chief Executive Officer, Dangote has already appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital Ltd., Vetiva Advisory Services Ltd., and FirstCap Ltd. as advisers for the initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.
Mwiti said the proposed listing is designed to cut across multiple markets and deepen investor participation across the continent.
- “The plan is to structure a pan-African IPO,” he said.
Bloomberg also reported that a spokesman for the Dangote Group confirmed that discussions had taken place between Dangote and exchange officials but declined to provide further details.
More insights
There has been growing speculation about Dangote’s planned initial public offering in recent months.
In December, it was reported that Dangote unveiled plans to list a 10% stake in his mega refinery on the Nigerian Exchange in 2026.
The billionaire, Africa’s richest person, also disclosed at the time that the company was in talks with regulators to enable dividend payments in U.S. dollars.
By February 2026, a clearer timeline emerged, with Dangote indicating that the IPO could be launched within the next five months.
- “But individually Nigerians too will have an opportunity in the next maximum four or five months, they will actually be able to buy their shares,” he said at the time.
He added that investors would have flexibility in how they receive returns.
- “People will have a choice either to get their dividends in naira or to get their dividends in dollars because we earn in dollars.”
What you should know
The planned listing comes as the refinery continues to expand its footprint across African energy markets.
- On March 22, Nairametrics reported that Dangote Petroleum Refinery exported 456,000 tonnes of refined petroleum products across 12 cargoes, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), to countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, and Togo.
- The refinery shipped a total of 17 gasoline cargoes to other African countries within the same period, underscoring its growing regional reach.
- Despite already operating at full capacity, the refinery is pursuing further expansion. Recently, the African Export-Import Bank underwrote $2.5 billion of a $4 billion syndicated loan for the project, while a $400 million agreement was signed with XCMG Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. to support expansion.
The refinery is expected to scale up from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day, a move that could make it the largest refinery globally upon completion.
Polypropylene production capacity is also projected to rise from 900,000 metric tonnes per annum to 2.4 million metric tonnes per annum.
