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Africa’s wealthiest man Aliko Dangote saw a slight decline in his net worth on May 7 as shares in Dangote Cement slid by 2.49 percent amid a sell-off by investors.
The billionaire’s net worth peaked at $18.4 billion in January.
Bloomberg Billionaire Index reported that Dangote saw his wealth decline by $200 million on May 7 to $16.3 billion from $16.5 billion two days before.
The $200-million loss is linked to Dangote Cement Plc having a rough day on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on May 6. Dangote derives the majority of his wealth from his 86-percent stake in his flagship cement company.
The Cement manufacturer is Nigeria’s most capitalized company and Africa’s largest cement producer, with 48.55 million metric tonnes per annum. It suffered a market value loss of about N96 billion ($233 million), as some wary investors cycled out their funds from the business.
The bearish trend is an indication that the company’s growth in profit for Q1 2021 failed to impress some investors after a resilient performance in 2020. It also shows that investors are exercising caution and continuing to cycle out funds from the equity space, searching for yields in the riskless market.
All this aside, Dangote maintains his position as Africa’s richest man with a total wealth valuation of $16.3 billion, according to Bloomberg. This valuation makes him the 119th richest man in the world.
Other publicly traded assets held by the billionaire include stakes in Dangote Sugar, Nascon Allied Industries and United Bank for Africa. His shares in these publicly traded companies are held directly and indirectly through his Dangote Industries Ltd. He also owns six residential and commercial properties in Lagos.
Dangote also owns a fertilizer plant with a capacity of up to 2.8 million tonnes of urea annually. The $2.5-billion granulated fertilizer plant is located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone and has not yet officially launched. However, it went through a production test-run in March. It plans to help curb Nigeria’s fertilizer imports and generate a $400 million annual foreign exchange in exports.
Dangote is presently developing a $12-billion oil refinery in Nigeria. Like the fertilizer plant, the refinery is not included in his wealth valuation, as it is not yet operational.
