VenturesNow

Dangote Group optimistic about boosting Nigeria’s falling currency with $30 billion revenue

Published

4 months ago

July 16, 2024

The $30 billion in income that Dangote Group plans to generate by the end of 2025, according to company President Aliko Dangote, will strengthen the naira. Dangote made the plan known during a Monday tour of Dangote Fertilizer Limited and Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals.

The plan signals a strategy to become independent from the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding foreign exchange sourcing.

The richest man in Africa stated that the substantial amount of foreign exchange that his companies are expected to bring into Nigeria will naturally increase the value of our local currency and restore the value of the naira in the global exchange market.

When the refinery started operating fully in 2024, its primary focus was on the refinement of intermediate products, including naphtha, polypropylene, RCO, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

He clarified that in March 2024, the refinery began its steady-state production phase. Furthermore, he projected that by August, production will escalate to 500,000 barrels per day with 15 crude cargoes each month, reaching 550,000 bpd by the end of the year, and aiming for 650,000 bpd by the first quarter of 2025.

“Petrol production will commence in July with sales from August,” assured Dangote.

Additionally, he disclosed that the group plans to list Dangote Fertilizer Limited and Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals on the Nigerian Exchange Group in the first quarter of 2025.

He continued by saying that Nigerians would be allowed to take a stake in these businesses.

“Due to the nature of our business with both the refinery and the fertiliser, we are aiming to list them by the end of this year. However, depending on circumstances, worst-case scenario, we anticipate listing them before the end of the first quarter of next year. This will allow us to offer shares for sale and enable Nigerians to participate as shareholders,” Dangote stated.

At full capacity, the Dangote Refinery can process 650,000 barrels of oil per day, making it the largest single-train facility in both Africa and the globe.

Additionally, the largest granulated urea fertiliser factory in Africa is run by Dangote Fertiliser Limited. At the moment, the most capitalized firm in Nigeria is Dangote Cement.

He emphasized that the refinery would produce 53 million litres of gasoline and 1.1 million tonnes of diesel per day, although its total storage capacity is 4.5 billion litres, which is enough to meet Nigeria’s crude needs for 20 days and store products equal to 15 days’ worth of fuel.

VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.