Dangote picks London over Dubai for cement listing, cites faster approval process

By Editor

Dangote Cement Plc has opted to pursue a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange rather than in Dubai, citing the United Kingdom’s faster and more practical listing process as the company seeks to broaden its international investor base.

The disclosure was made by Mariya Dangote, Executive Director overseeing the group’s cement and foods businesses, who said the company had evaluated Dubai but concluded that obtaining a listing there would take considerably longer.

The planned secondary listing is part of the Dangote Group’s wider expansion strategy as it pursues an ambitious target of generating $100 billion in annual revenue by 2030 through investments across manufacturing, energy and industrial businesses.

Speaking in Lagos, Mariya Dangote said London offered a better strategic fit for the company’s objectives.

“It’s compatible with our business. We thought of the secondary listing in Dubai, but it would have taken years to list,” she said.

She disclosed that the company is working towards completing the London listing before the end of 2026, although the timetable could shift to the first quarter of 2027 depending on the schedule for the planned initial public offering (IPO) of Dangote Refinery.

“The way things are moving, we are looking to do the secondary listing at the end of this year,” she said.

According to her, the group is carefully sequencing multiple capital market transactions.

“The company is going into two IPOs at the same time. So we want to have a bit of a gap. If the refinery one is around September, then we’ll push the secondary listing to the end of the year or the first quarter of 2027.”

The planned London listing comes as the Dangote Group intensifies efforts to deepen its international presence and unlock value across its portfolio.

Beyond the refinery IPO, expected to rank among Africa’s largest public offerings, the conglomerate also plans to divest a stake in its fertiliser business to raise fresh capital for future expansion.

Dangote Refinery recently attained full production capacity, reinforcing its position as one of the world’s largest single-train refineries and increasing investor interest in the group’s energy business.

Dangote Cement, meanwhile, remains Africa’s largest cement producer, with an installed production capacity of 55 million metric tonnes annually across 11 plants in 10 African countries.

Although the company first announced plans for a London listing in 2011, the latest comments indicate the long-delayed strategy is now approaching execution as market conditions improve.

Capital market analysts say a London listing could significantly enhance Dangote Cement’s global visibility, improve liquidity in its shares and broaden access to institutional investors that may have limited exposure to African exchanges.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, has consistently argued that international listings can strengthen corporate governance, improve transparency and expand access to long-term foreign capital, particularly for companies with continental operations and strong export earnings.

Similarly, investment analysts note that London remains one of the world’s leading financial centres for emerging market companies because of its deep institutional investor base, well-established regulatory framework and extensive analyst coverage. These factors can help companies attract a wider pool of international investors while potentially lowering their long-term cost of capital.

However, analysts also caution that maintaining dual listings increases regulatory compliance obligations and reporting costs, requiring issuers to meet the governance and disclosure standards of multiple jurisdictions.

The planned secondary listing follows a series of strategic capital market initiatives by the Dangote Group.

The conglomerate recently completed a $2.5 billion private placement, one of the largest corporate fundraising transactions undertaken by an African company. In December 2025, Aliko Dangote also announced plans to list a 10 per cent stake in the approximately $20 billion Dangote Refinery on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), while billionaire investor Femi Otedola has pledged to invest $100 million in the refinery’s anticipated public offering, describing it as a strategic long-term investment.

Analysts say the combination of the refinery IPO, the proposed London listing of Dangote Cement and the planned sale of a stake in the fertiliser business underscores the group’s strategy of leveraging capital markets to finance expansion while positioning its businesses for greater international visibility and sustained long-term growth.