Abdulsamad Rabiu, a prominent Nigerian businessman and billionaire investor, faced a substantial setback in 2023, experiencing a $2.5 billion decline in his net worth.
Despite retaining his position on Forbes’ list of African billionaires as Nigeria’s second-richest man, Rabiu’s net worth, which was at $8.3 billion at the beginning of the year closed at $5.7 billion based on data tracked on Forbes. This decline is primarily attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s free float policy.
Also, Rabiu, the founder of the BUA conglomerate, saw himself drop from Bloomberg’s billionaire index following the impact of the naira devaluation policy.
Notably, Aliko Dangote, another Nigerian billionaire, also suffered a loss of $3.6 billion due to the same policy.
In 2023, the Nigerian naira experienced a significant fall against the US dollar, marking one of the worst depreciations since the return to democracy in 1999 and earning the dubious distinction of being the worst-performing currency in Africa .
The Central Bank of Nigeria merged all segments of the foreign exchange market into the Investors and Exporters window, reintroducing the willing buyer, willing seller model.
Bloomberg’s market analysis projected a further decline in the naira’s value in 2024.
Bloomberg’s data revealed that the naira depreciated by 55% in 2023, reaching its lowest point on the official NAFEM market of N1,099.05/4 on December 8, 2023, before closing the year atN907.11/$ making it the poorest-performing currency globally among 151 tracked currencies.
What you should know
Three months into the naira devaluation policy, Rabiu incurred a loss amounting to one-third of his wealth in 2023. Concurrently, BUA Cement, a major contributor to Rabiu’s fortune, experienced a slight drop in market capitalization to N3.28 trillion, compared to N3.31 trillion in 2022.
- Additionally, BUA Cement reported a significant increase in foreign exchange loss, rising by 412% year-on-year to N26.936 billion, with a decline in pre-tax margin to 25.53%.
- BUA Foods demonstrated remarkable growth in both revenue and profit, maintaining healthy profit margins, as indicated by its 2023 9-month results.
- On a positive note, Rabiu’s BUA Foods witnessed a surge in share price by 197.54% to N193.40 per share in 2023 when compared with N65 recorded in 2022.
- BUA Foods market cap surged from N1.1 trillion in 2022 to N3.4 trillion at the end of 2023.
- Most of Rabiu’s wealth is tied to his shares in BUA Cement, where he owns about 98% of the company’s shares directly and through affiliated companies.
- BUA Cement, Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer, went public in January 2020. BUA Foods, in which Rabiu holds a 93% stake, went public in January 2022, owning Nigeria’s largest noodle and flour mill.
Abdulsamad Rabiu, who studied economics at Capital University in Ohio, returned to Nigeria at the age of 24 to manage the family business.
He founded the BUA Group in 1988, initially focusing on importing food and steel.
Through strategic mergers, including the 2009 acquisition of Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), the company evolved into a major player in the cement and sugar production industry.
