Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Industries Limited, said on Thursday that the initial public offering of his company’s Dangote refinery will open within the next 10 to 12 days.
Dangote disclosed the timeline while speaking to investors and analysts in Botswana, according to Reuters.
The $20 billion refinery, the largest in Africa, is expected to raise about $5 billion through the IPO, which could become the continent’s largest public offering.
“So our dream is that we want to make sure we double the capacity of the refinery, which will take us to 1.4 million barrels per day. The IPO will open in the next 10 to 12 days,” Dangote said.
The Lagos-based refinery reached its designed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day in February and has since pushed output above that level, reaching 700,000 barrels per day during tests.
Dangote does not disclose profit margins for the refinery. Refiners globally, however, have reported stronger earnings in recent months as instability in the Middle East has prompted buyers to seek alternative fuel supplies.
Beyond the refinery IPO, Dangote used his visit to Botswana to outline broader plans for his industrial group.
Dangote Cement is preparing for a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, potentially as early as October, a move aimed at giving the company access to a wider pool of international investors.
He also confirmed plans for a new refinery on Kenya’s coast, to be developed in partnership with East African governments. The facility would supply refined fuel to Kenya and neighbouring countries and help reduce the region’s reliance on imported petroleum products.
The project would mark the group’s biggest refining investment outside Nigeria and is expected to take up to three years to complete.
