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By Eric Osiakwan
The much-anticipated Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE Initial Public Offering (IPO), which values the business at $40B to $50B, will now be a cross-border listing on multiple African stock markets this year, making it not only the biggest IPO on the continent but the first on multiple African exchanges.
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This was the outcome of a meeting convened by the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group) that brought together stakeholders within the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), including representatives from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria, Vetiva Capital Management, Stanbic IBTC Capital and FirstCap (First Capital).[1]
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Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, who was also at the meeting, which seeks to position the refinery’s listing as a test case for cross-border capital formation and investor participation across African markets, emphasized the long-term vision underpinning the planned refinery listing and its broader significance for African investors:
“Our objective is to create sustainable wealth for Africa by ensuring that Africans can invest in and benefit from world-class assets built on the continent. We are building businesses with strong foreign currency-earning capacity and will continue to list these assets, giving investors across Africa the opportunity to participate in their growth”.
His vision encapsulates wealth creation across the continent using an integrated approach of unlocking value from local assets by allowing local participation in the upside.
African integration has been at the forefront of the continent’s development with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – the world’s largest free trade area by number of member states (after the World Trade Organization), connecting 55 African Union member states with a combined population of over 1.4 billion and gross domestic product (GDP) of roughly $3T aiming to eliminate tariffs, reduce non-tariff barriers and boost intra-African trade.
Hence, this listing[2] across multiple exchanges would deepen the integration of African capital markets whilst creating wealth for local investors – setting the stage for more of such listings.
Momentum has been building toward such multiple stock market listings over the years. For example, the MTN Group, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) with operations in multiple African countries, also has some of its subsidiaries independently listed on the local exchanges where they operate; in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda.
Though some of those listings are to meet regulatory requirements, they allowed locals who use the MTN network to also participate in their ownership to benefit from the wealth that is created. This also means that not all the dividends are repatriated to the group, allowing capital to stay in the respective economies, reducing pressure on the local currency. The preserved capital is recycled into economic activities that stimulate GDP growth.
FTSE Russell restored Nigeria to its Frontier Market index. This move comes nearly three years after the country was downgraded to “Unclassified” and marks a major victory for the country’s economic reforms.
The reclassification follows meaningful improvements in foreign exchange liquidity and capital repatriation, addressing the very concerns that triggered the original downgrade.[3] Indeed, the establishment of refineries like Dangote’s adds value to local crude production, reducing dependency on foreign end products that mostly require foreign currency to purchase, putting pressure on the local currency, risking inflation and high interest rate.
Analysts expect this upgrade to trigger massive passive inflows into banking and large-cap stocks, deepening market liquidity. While the road to reform has been rocky, this international stamp of approval restores Nigeria’s visibility and confirms its standing as a vital hub for frontier capital.
The listing of the Dangote refinery on the back of this upgrade, means there will be massive participation from international investors, given the renewed appetite for the Nigerian market. It is however important that room is made for local investors to be active participants in the listings. Otherwise, the gains of listing on multiple local exchanges will not be felt and that could erode the gains of integration.
In a related development, the Dangote Group has announced it will need at least $40 billion over the next five years to fund a growth drive[4] that includes quadrupling urea fertilizer production and more than doubling the capacity of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The group is also planning to replicate it’s 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Tanzania to serve the East Africa region. [5] This expansion is part of a broader strategic roadmap branded Vision 2030, which aims to transform the group into a US$100 billion annual revenue enterprise by the end of the decade.[6]
Ghana’s oil marketing company, ZEN Petroleum Holdings PLC has commenced trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE:ZEN) after a successful IPO that saw 128 million shares offered being oversubscribed by 94% generating bids of GHS970M with GHS 640M raised.[7] The GSE Composite Index, the benchmark index has crossed the 15,000 point mark for the first time in its history, closing at 15,185.49 points on March 10, 2026, raising the index to 73.15%.[8]
BRVM launched the first listing of bonds from the Fonds Commun de Titrisation de Créances (FCTC), as part of Cote d’Ivoire government’s “Électricité Pour Tous aka Electricity for All” program (PEPT). The issuance is split into three tranches: “FCTC EPT 7.50% 2025–2032,” “FCTC EPT 8.00% 2025–2035,” and “FCTC EPT 8.50% 2025–2040,” for a total of 60 billion CFA francs ($107 million). Each bond has a nominal value of 10,000 CFA francs.[9]
Econet Wireless has consolidated its Zimbabwe towers, renewable energy systems, and strategic real estate into a standalone infrastructure platform, Econet InfraCo. Econet InfraCo has officially started trading on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), marking Zimbabwe’s largest initial listing at a valuation of $1 billion and becoming the 16th equity on the US dollar-denominated bourse.
No new capital was raised; 25% of InfraCo was distributed to existing Econet shareholders as a dividend in specie. Econet Wireless delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to seek more accurate US dollar valuations and liquidity on VFEX.[10] Hopefully, Econet Wireless will follow with listings on other markets where it has operations.
[1] https://businessday.ng/companies/article/ngx-group-dangote-engage-african-exchanges-on-cross-border-listings/?mc_cid=0da64bd1fc&mc_eid=40087f4350
[2] https://dabafinance.com/en/insights/dangote-refinery-ipo-2026-everything-you-need-to-know?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
[3] https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/global-index-provider-restores-nigeria-to-frontier-market-index-boosting-investor/qb75hfb?mc_cid=d366c5178a&mc_eid=0af56d67ff
[4] https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/dangote-confirms-march-crude-supply-to-africas-largest-refinery-doubled/tlc75ys
[5] https://kenyanwallstreet.com/dangote-refinery-tanga-project
[6] https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/dangote-targets-dollar40b-investment-to-expand-oil-fertilizer-empire/mq7x0tv?mc_cid=db52791a0e&mc_eid=0af56d67ff
[7] https://www.african-markets.com/en/stock-markets/gse/zen-petroleum-lists-on-the-ghana-stock-exchange-following-its-oversubscribed-ipo
[8] https://www.african-markets.com/en/stock-markets/gse/ghana-stock-exchange-gse-composite-index-crosses-15-000-after-a-73-rally-since-january
[9] https://www.ecofinagency.com/news/2404-55000-cote-d-ivoire-lists-bonds-to-expand-power-access-to-a-quarter-of-population
[10] https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/billionaire-strive-masiyiwas-econet-infraco-debuts-on-vfex-at-dollar1-billion-marking/l9s8w7r
