Uganda opens door for investors in Dangote Refinery IPO

Uganda’s capital markets regulator has approved local investors to participate in the planned initial public offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, broadening access to what is expected to be Africa’s largest public share sale.

According to a statement issued by the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda, the approval follows an application submitted on behalf of the refinery by Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited. The approval allows Ugandan investors to subscribe to securities being offered under the refinery’s IPO.

The move comes days after Kenya’s capital markets regulator approved a short-form prospectus for a global depository receipt, paving the way for Kenyan investors to participate in the offering as the transaction gathers momentum across East Africa.

READ: Dangote IPO puts African capital to the test

Africa’s richest individual, Aliko Dangote, unveiled plans in September for a US$1.6 billion (R26.69-billion) IPO of the refinery. The share sale is intended to raise capital to fund an expansion that would double the facility’s processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. The transaction has been marketed as a “people’s IPO”, aimed at broadening ownership among African investors.

Altered Nigeria’s fuel market

The refinery, located on the outskirts of Lagos, was built by the Dangote Group over a decade at a cost of approximately US$20 billion. Since commencing operations in 2024, the facility has significantly altered Nigeria’s fuel market by reducing the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.

Currently processing 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the refinery is widely regarded as one of the most significant industrial investments on the continent and a key pillar of Nigeria’s energy security strategy.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery said it was using Saudi Aramco’s blockbuster listing as a benchmark for its own IPO in terms of retail subscribers, Chief Executive David Bird said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Fujairah Energy Markets Forum, Bird said the refinery is targeting 10 million retail investors for its planned initial public offering.

READ MORE: Nigeria’s Dangote refinery targets 10 million retail investors for planned IPO

Aramco, which raised $29.4 billion in its 2019 IPO by over-allotment of shares, had said it would sell up to 0.5% of the state oil giant to retail investors.

“Our benchmark is the Aramco listing, which I think (had) over 4.5 million retail subscribers,” Bird said.

“So we are going to try and smash that with 10 million retail subscribers and we are well on our way.”

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