Equity investors in the stocks of companies under the Dangote Group have gained over 1.2tn during the first two trading sessions of this week.
This marked increased appetite in the stocks of the companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, following the commencement of the production by the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery.
The PUNCH reported that Dangote Petroleum Refinery said it had commenced production of diesel and aviation fuel on Friday.
The listed companies; Dangote Cement Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and NASCON Allied Industries Plc; the latter companies are in the middle of a merger with another firm, Dangote Rice Limited.
In August, it was revealed that the firms had agreed to integrate into a single entity. The merger will be executed courtesy of “a scheme of merger under Section 711 of the Companies & Allied Matters Act, 2020 (as amended) and other applicable rules and regulations,” Dangote Sugar said in a statement.
Through the scheme consideration, 12 ordinary shares in NASCON will be exchanged for 11 Dangote Sugar shares, totalling 2,428,651,847 new ordinary shares of Dangote Shares. The three companies are all members of the conglomerate Dangote Industries Limited controlled by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.
On Friday, Dangote Cement closed trading with a market cap of N5.964tn, Dangote Sugar was worth N828.417bn and NASCON was valued at N158.966bn.
By the close of trading on Tuesday, Dangote Cement’s capitalisation had risen to N7.018tn with a unit priced at N411.90. Dangote Sugar’s market capitalisation rose to N988.755bn and NASCON Allied appreciated to N189.434bn. The value of the increases across the companies led to a gain of N1.245tn for shareholders in the companies, the largest being in Dangote Cement.
At the close of trading, both Dangote Sugar and NASCON Allied Industries gained 10 per cent to close at N81.40 and N71.50 per unit. NASCON also emerged the most traded security in terms of value resulting in N2.57bn worth of its units traded.
The listing of Dangote Refinery is one that several analysts had projected for this year, seeing it as a major boost for the capital market alongside the listing of Dangote Foods and NNPC Limited.
Speaking on the commencement of production at the refinery, Dangote, described it as “a game changer” and “an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects.”
Meanwhile, the billionaire owner of the conglomerate in November revealed plans to list his $20bn Dangote Petrochemical Refinery on the NGX.
Dangote in an interview with Financial Times said that with the resolution of challenges with crude oil supply to the refinery, “We are now ready to move forward with our plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.”
The refinery which is expected to produce diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, was officially opened by former president, Muhammadu Buhari, in May.
Meanwhile, billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has said that Dangote Refinery will champion energy security in Nigeria.
Otedola said this in December on his X (formerly Twitter ) handle, where he congratulated Africa’s richest man and his “bestie,” Aliko Dangote, on the commencement of production of the refinery.
He said, “By meeting our requirements for all refined petroleum products, it will champion energy security and independence for our nation and act as a catalyst for a new era of prosperity for the subcontinent. It promises economic transformation for Nigerians today and for generations to come.”
Otedola added, “I heartily congratulate my bestie #AlikoDangote as the 8th Wonder of the World – the $20bn #DangoteGroup Refinery – officially commences production.
SOURCE: PUNCHNG
