Africa’s biggest cement producer, Dangote Cement, plans to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2019.
The company’s president, Aliko Dangote, made this known in London on Monday.
Dangote spoke during “One to One Conversation”, with Lionel Barber, the editor of Financial Times at the on-going 5th annual Financial Times African Summit.
He told his audience comprising of investors, business magnates, captains of industry and African Heads of Government which included President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Ali Bongo of Gabon, that the listing might happen in 2019.
According to him, all hands are on deck to complete the process of listing, the development which he said is being looked towards for by the business community.
Asked who the bankers could be for the IPO, Dangote said “the usual ones…Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered.”
Dangote Cement is already the most capitalised stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, accounting for about 25 per cent of the value. Listed on the exchange’s premium board, the company’s market capitalisation as at October was N3.41 trillion, out of the entire N13 trillion value of the Nigerian Exchange.
The company which began operation in 2007 has manufacturing operations in Obajana, Ibese and Gboko.
The Obajana plant in Kogi state, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 13.25Mta of capacity across four lines. The Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta and the Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta. The company dominates cement supply market in Nigeria, accounting for 66 per cent of market share.
Through the investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into a net exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.
The company also invested almost $3 billion to build manufacturing plants and import and grinding terminals in Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sierra Leone , South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia .
According to the company’s first half year result for this year, Group revenue hit N482.4 billion($1.34 billion), up 16.9 per cent.
