Economy
Dangote Cement Production Hits 45.8m MT per annum
By Dipo Olowookere
Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that one of his companies, Dangote Cement Plc, has grown its total production capacity across Africa to 45.8 million metric tonnes per annum.
The Nigerian businessman said this figure was correct as at the end of May 2017, making the firm one of the biggest cement producers on the continent.
Speaking on Thursday at the launch of his 1.5mtpa capacity cement plant in Mfila, Congo Brazzaville,
Mr Dangote noted that his aspiration is to rank among the top 10 cement producers in the world by 2020.
The new plant estimated at $300 million has potentials for about 1000 direct employment and thousands of several other indirect jobs.
Mr Dangote, who is the Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, in his address, said his company was delighted to have completed the plant on schedule, saying the addition of Dangote Cement’s 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum plant has more than doubled the total cement production capacity of Congo-Brazzaville, which now stands at 2.550 million metric tonnes per annum, far in excess of national demand.
“It is envisaged that this will contribute substantially to the availability and affordability of cement in the country and the Republic of the Congo will no longer need to depend on imports to bridge the gap between demand and supply.
“It is our hope that the inauguration of the plant will boost Congo’s economy, conserve foreign exchange that would otherwise have been spent on imports for the country, and create employment opportunities down the value chain,” he stated.
Mr Dangote commended the Congolese government noting that the bold economic reform measures put in place by President Denis Sassou Nguesso administration have been quite salutary. “The construction industry, which is a major sector of the economy, is a beneficiary of his policies, and has been receiving the attention of investors. We believe that our investment will contribute to Congo-Brazzaville’s current economic renaissance under the leadership of the President Nguesso.”
He pointed out that his organization received tremendous support and encouragement both from the government and the people of Congo-Brazzaville, right from the conceptualisation stage of our project, to its final completion, and commissioning.
In appreciation of the good gesture of the government and the people, Dangote disclosed that without waiting to stabilise production, the Cement company had already commenced CSR projects with the construction of a road with a length of 30km around Yamba, which would have cost the local government approximately 240 million CFA to execute.
He stated further “we have also disbursed scholarships for students and we are also building a school and renovating a hospital within our host communities. Apart from these, we have repaired a dilapidated bridge on a major highway at a cost of $300,000, to enable heavy duty vehicles to cross the bridge. As a policy, we also ensure that we give priority to qualified indigenes from our local host communities in our recruitment drive.”
Also speaking at the commissioning, President of Congo, Mr Denis Sassou Nguesso, described the investment as an industrial revolution, sort of, within the Economic Community of the Central African States (CEMAC), saying his country was happy to host the investment.
According to him, his government has observed the operations of Dangote Cement in other African countries and it has helped buoy their economies by sparking off other allied industries expressing the hope that Congo situation would not be an exception.
The Congolese President described the coming on stream of the Dangote cement as timely and encouraging because it is starting operations at a time the total government revenues have plummeted by 31.3 percent and revenues from the oil sector have fallen 65.1 percent since 2015 due to a slide in global crude prices.
On his part, President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented at the event by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Kayode Fayemi, commended Mr Dangote and his cement company for championing economic renaissance of Africa with the construction of cement plants across several African countries saying the sterling accomplishment makes the Dangote Cement brand, and indeed Mr Dangote himself, worthy ambassadors of Nigeria.
President Buhari said his government has consistently supported and encouraged the Dangote Group in its quest to contribute its quota to the economic emancipation of the African continent, which is blessed with a plethora of natural resources.
“I believe that it is only home-grown practical solutions that can address the myriad issues plaguing Africa today and one of such challenges that Africa has been grappling with for decades is the infrastructure deficit.
“I am confident that massive investments in cement production, which is a key driver of infrastructural development, will contribute in no small measure, to addressing this perennial problem,” he said.
President Buhari recalled with satisfaction that local cement manufacturers such as Dangote Cement, Lafarge and BUA, have exploited one of the solid minerals, limestone which is a basic input for cement production and which Nigeria has in abundance, in different parts of the country to achieve self-sufficiency in local cement production in 2015, and is now a net exporter of the product.
“The backward integration policy of the Federal Government in the cement sector, which was launched in 2002, has contributed to this success story by successfully substituting imports with local production, we have saved over $2billion spent on cement importation into Nigeria, annually.
“We have also started using cement for road construction in the country due to its numerous advantages over the more common bituminous road. Again, in this area, Dangote Cement is leading the charge, through AG-Dangote, its joint venture with Andrade-Gutierrez, a construction giant in Brazil,” Nigeria’s President stated.
Dangote Cement commissioned its cement plants in four African countries namely: Ethiopia, Zambia, Cameroun and Tanzania.
The Congo-Brazzaville plant, which began operations in the third quarter of 2017, will be the fifth cement plant that would be inaugurated in the last two years.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trajectory seen at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in the past sessions was halted on Thursday as a result of profit-taking in Aradel Holdings, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and others.
Nigerian stocks were down by 0.43 per cent because of the selling pressure. It was the first loss in 2026 and also the first in 23 trading session. The last time Customs Street ended in red was December 10, 2025.
The decision of investors to trim their exposure to equities contracted the All-Share Index (ASI) by 714.66 points during the session to 166,057.29 points from 166,771.95 points and brought down the market capitalisation by N458 billion to N106.323 trillion from N106.781 trillion.
A look at the sectorial performance indicated that the energy, commodity, and insurance indices were down by 2.21 per cent, 1.14 per cent, and 0.24 per cent, respectively, while the banking, consumer goods, and industrial goods sectors were up by 0.78 per cent, 0.33 per cent, and 0.01 per cent apiece.
Yesterday, investor sentiment was weak after the bourse ended with 26 price gainers and 41 price losers, showing a negative market breadth index.
McNichols declined by 9.99 per cent to trade at N6.58, Caverton crashed by 9.47 per cent to N7.65, Ikeja Hotel collapsed by 9.43 per cent to N35.05, FTN Cocoa dropped 9.38 per cent to sell for N7.05, and Neimeth went down by 8.91 per cent to N9.20.
On the flip side, Nestle Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to quote at N2,153.80, NCR Nigeria appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N116.90, Jaiz Bank improved by 9.92 per cent to N8.20, Morison Industries rose by 9.90 per cent to N5.66, and Mecure Industries grew by 9.84 per cent to N97.70.
During the session, market participants traded 1.0 billion stocks worth N31.6 billion in 51,227 deals compared with the 761.9 million stocks valued at N29.9 billion transacted in 55,751 deals at midweek, representing a drop in the number of deals by 8.12 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 31.25 per cent, and 5.69 per cent, respectively.
Sovereign Trust Insurance returned on top of the activity chart with 245.2 million units sold for N798.5 million, Access Holdings traded 78.4 million units worth N1.8 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 72.4 million units for N5.0 billion, Jaiz Bank exchanged 53.7 million units valued at N433.9 million, and Lasaco Assurance traded 53.4 million units worth N135.1 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil was down by around 4 per cent on Thursday after the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, said the crackdown on protesters in Iran was easing, calming concerns over potential military action against the Middle-East country and oil supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures depreciated by $2.76 or 4.15 per cent to $63.76 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by $2.83 or 4.56 per cent, to $59.19 a barrel.
President Trump said he had been told that killings during Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, though he warned that the US was still weighing military action against the oil producer, which is a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Countries (OPEC).
Thousands of people are reported to have been killed in the weeks-long protests, and the American president has vowed to support demonstrators, saying help was “on its way.”
Iran has threatened the US with reprisals were it to be attacked, alongside conciliatory signals, including the suspension of a protester’s execution.
The New York Times reported that many of the US Gulf allies, including several of Iran’s own rivals, have also pushed against a US military intervention, warning that the ripple effects would undermine regional security and damage their reputations as havens for foreign capital.
Regardless, the US withdrew some personnel from military bases in the Middle East, after a senior Iranian official said Iran had told neighbours it would hit American bases if America strikes.
Venezuela has begun reversing oil production cuts made under a US embargo, with crude exports also resuming. The OPEC member’s oil exports fell close to zero in the weeks after the US imposed a blockade on oil shipments in December, with only Chevron exporting crude from its joint ventures with PDVSA under US license.
The embargo left millions of barrels stuck in onshore tanks and vessels. As storage filled, PDVSA was forced to shut wells and order oil production cuts at joint ventures in the country.
With this development, the Venezuelan state oil company is now instructing the joint ventures to resume output from well clusters that were shut.
On the demand side, OPEC said on Wednesday that 2027 oil demand was likely to rise at a similar pace to this year and published data indicating a near balance between supply and demand in 2026, contrasting with other forecasts of a glut.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s crude oil production slipped slightly to 1.422 million barrels per day in December 2025 from 1.436 million barrels per day in November, according to data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
OPEC in its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), quoting primary sources, noted that the oil output was below the 1.5 million barrels per day quota for the nation.
The OPEC data indicate that Nigeria last met its production quota in July 2025, with output remaining below target from August through December.
Quarterly figures reveal a consistent decline across 2025; Q1: 1.468 million barrels per day, Q2: 1.481 million barrels per day, Q3: 1.444 million barrels per day, and 1.42 million barrels per day in Q4.
However, the cartel acknowledged that despite the gradual decrease in oil production, Nigeria’s non-oil sector grew in the second half of last year.
The organisation noted that “Nigeria’s economy showed resilience in 2H25, posting sound growth despite global challenges, as strength in the non-oil economy partly offset slower growth in the oil sector.”
According to the report, cooling inflation, a stronger Naira, lower refined fuel imports, and stronger remittance inflows are improving domestic and external conditions.
“A stronger naira, easing food prices due to the harvest, and a cooling in core inflation also point to gradually fading underlying pressures”, the report noted.
It forecast inflation to decelerate further on the back of past monetary tightening, currency strength, and seasonal harvest effects, though it noted that monetary policy remains restrictive.
“Seasonally adjusted real GDP growth at market prices moderated to stand at 3.9%, y-o-y, in 3Q25, down from 4.2% in 2Q25. Nonetheless, this is still a healthy and robust growth level, supported by strengthening non-oil activity, with growth in that segment rising by 0.3 percentage points to 3.9%, y-o-y. Inflation continued to decelerate in November, with headline CPI falling for an eighth straight month to 14.5%, y-o-y, following 16.1%, y-o-y, in October”.
OPEC, however, stated that while preserving recent disinflation gains is important, the persistently high policy rate – implying real interest rates of around 12% – risks weighing on aggregate demand in the near term.
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