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Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has promised to list his planned East African refinery on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, courting Kenyan investors a day before he breaks ground on the $16 billion plant.
"I'm actually making a commitment here today. The East African refinery will be listed at the Nairobi Stock Exchange," Dangote told an investor event in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday.
The pledge came as Dangote races to sell shares in his Nigerian refinery in Africa's biggest initial public offering. Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE is offering 4.1 billion shares at 525 naira each, seeking about 2.15 trillion naira ($1.6 billion). The offer opened Sept. 14 and closes Oct. 13.
Kenyan investors could get a way into that sale as well. Stanley Kariuki, chief executive officer of Renaissance Capital, said at the same event that global depositary receipts linked to the Nigerian IPO will trade on the Nairobi bourse. The underlying shares would be held in custody in Nigeria, with the receipts offered to investors in Kenya and the wider region.
Frank Mwiti, chief executive officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, has said the exchange is also in talks with Dangote, the Nigerian Exchange and Nigeria's securities regulator about a possible cross-listing of the refinery in Nairobi.
The regulator's green light is the missing piece. Kenya's Capital Markets Authority warned investors on Sept. 21 that the refinery offer had not been submitted to it for approval and is regulated only in Nigeria. No approval for the receipts had been announced as of Tuesday, with two weeks left before the offer closes.
Dangote's Kenyan push runs on three tracks at once. President William Ruto is expected to lead Wednesday's groundbreaking in Lamu for the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery, even as a court order over disputed land requires both sides to maintain the status quo until an Oct. 14 hearing. Dangote Group has said some site work may be affected.
He is also selling the Lamu project to governments. Dangote has offered East African countries a combined 30% stake, with Kenya able to take 10% worth about $500 million, according to David Ndii, economic adviser to Ruto.
Construction is expected to take about three years, which puts any Nairobi listing of the East African refinery several years away.
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