By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, has said he was already planning ahead of a possible devaluation of the Nigerian Naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Mr Dangote, speaking in an interview with Mr David Rubenstein on his show on Bloomberg TV, said in order not to be caught off guard, he was considering getting an office space in New York, United States of America.
According to him, this is one of the ways he was pondering on to protect the wealth of the family, expressing concerns of any possible devaluation of the currency, which could weaken his local investments.
“In Africa, you know we have issues of devaluation, so we want to really preserve some of the family’s wealth,” Mr Dangote, 62, was quoted as saying on the David Rubenstein programme.
He noted that the office space in New York will help to diversify his business and avoid the risk of currency fluctuations on his home continent.
Mr Dangote owns one of the biggest cement companies in sub-Saharan Africa and his planning to list shares of his Dangote Cement Plc on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The businessman has not hidden his desire to diversify his investments. He was once rumoured to be interested in buying popular London-based football outfit, Arsenal FC.
At the moment, he is building a crude oil refinery in Lagos, Nigeria and the facility is expected to produce 650,000 barrel of oil per day when completed.
According to the 2019 Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mr Dangote, who has interests in cement, sugar and flour, is ranked the 95th wealthiest man in the world, becoming $4.3 billion richer last year to nearly $15 billion.
The Kano State-born business mogul, who has stayed away from local politics, is one of the biggest employers of labour in Nigeria. He is also known to give back to society through different means. He currently runs the Aliko Dangote Foundation.
