By Dipo Olowookere
Plans by Dangote Cement Plc to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) anytime soon have been suspended, for now, the company has confirmed.
In an emailed response to an enquiry from Bloomberg, the leading cement manufacturer in Africa said the proposed sale of the company’s equities through an initial public offering (IPO) may be considered again from 2023.
But for now, the main focus is on the sale of the firm’s products outside the country so as to improve its foreign exchange (forex) earnings, especially at a time Nigeria is experiencing FX liquidity crisis because of a decline in the price of crude oil.
Dangote Cement is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and on Wednesday, shares of the company appreciated by N3.30 or 2.17 per cent to trade at N155.30 each.
The cement firm is owned by the richest man in Africa, Mr Aliko Dangote, who has not hidden his intention to break into Europe and the United States of America.
He has also been reported to be interested in buying a popular football outfit in England, Arsenal Football Club. At the moment, he is building a private crude oil refinery in Lagos with a capacity to refine 650,000 barrels per day and should be completed in the coming months and his concentration is on this.
“The London listing is not something which will happen in the short to medium term,” the head of investor relations at Dangote Cement, Ms Temilade Aduroja, informed Bloomberg, noting that, “We are focused on our export strategy and increasing our foreign-currency revenue.”
Business Post reports that in June, Dangote Cement said in order to increase its foreign earnings, it commenced the export of clinker to some African countries and about 27,800 metric tonnes of the product was specifically taken to Senegal.
In the first six months of 2020, the cement miller recorded a profit after tax of N126.1 billion compared with the N119.2 billion achieved in the first six months of 2019.
Adedapo Adesanya