Business
Dangote Cement looking to expand into Asia
He denied that his foundation gave only to countries where he has business interests, citing a US$2 million donation given to Pakistan in 2010 through the United Nations World Food Program after the country was hit by flooding.
“I have only been to Pakistan on transit maybe 20 years ago,” Dangote said.
Dangote Cement has been expanding in new African markets to tap demand for building materials as governments invest in infrastructure. The company is planning US$1 billion in capital expenditure this year to increase capacity from 29 million tons.
His moves to dominate the African market haven’t been without some snags. Dangote said the building of a US$350 million cement plant in Niger, announced in 2013, was delayed after some “internal fault” at the company, which has been addressed. He declined to elaborate further.
Construction on the Niger factory will start this year and will take 26 months to complete, he said.
Dangote has also seen his wealth decline US$3.1 billion this year as the share price in his cement business has fallen 13 percent in the same period, more than the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index, which has slumped 3.4 percent. Nigeria’s local currency, the naira, is down 7.8 percent so far in 2015 against the dollar.
“In the future we will try and replicate the other businesses outside Nigeria,” Dangote said, referring to his interests other than cement. “But we have so much we’re invested in right now, so we want to continue with just cement, cement, cement for the next two, three years.”
Source: Bloomberg Business
