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Aliko Dangote's refinery may not stop at the Nigerian Exchange. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange said it has engaged with the Nigerian billionaire's Dangote Group and that the company could list its petroleum refinery in South Africa after a Nigerian initial public offering, a JSE spokesperson said this on Wednesday.
"They will list in Nigeria first but with strong intent to hopefully bring the listing to South Africa," the exchange said in an emailed response.
The company is aiming to raise $5 billion in the offering, in what would rank among the largest share sales ever attempted in Africa. Sources said the group has made a preliminary filing with Nigeria's securities regulator for the refinery IPO, targeting an October listing. The primary listing will be on the Nigerian Exchange.
Dangote, Africa's richest man, wants regional capital markets to take part. One of the sources said the group is looking beyond Nigeria, with Kenya potentially raising $500 million. Dangote has said he wants ordinary Africans across the continent to be able to own a piece of the refinery, framing the listing as a way to democratize industrial wealth.
Dangote built the refinery at a cost of roughly $20 billion. It started fuel production in 2024 and reached full capacity earlier this year. The 650,000 barrel per day plant is Africa's largest, and it supplied about 90% of Nigeria's petrol demand as of May, according to the country's downstream regulator. Nigerian state oil firm NNPC holds a stake of just over 7%.
A listing in Johannesburg would give Africa's biggest and most developed stock exchange a share of the continent's most closely watched industrial project. The JSE has been working to attract new listings after years of decline that have cut the number of companies on its main board to fewer than 300, and even a secondary listing of the refinery would count as a notable win.
Whether that ambition carries into South Africa will depend on the structure regulators in both countries accept once the Nigerian sale is complete. The Nigerian listing comes first, with the JSE signaling it hopes to follow.
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