Aliko Dangote’s sugar refinery moves to invest $1 billion in Nigeria expansion

Egyptian billionaire Yasseen Mansour has recorded a EGP35.6-million ($1.86 million) boost in his net worth in the past 74 days, as shares in Palm Hills Development increased by nearly 19 percent in reaction to the company’s recently released first-quarter results.

Palm Hills Development, an operating subsidiary of Egypt’s largest conglomerate, Mansour Group, is a well-known real estate developer with active investments in Egypt. The company develops integrated residential, commercial, and resort communities.

Mansour, the chairman of Palm Hills Development and one of Egypt’s and Africa’s wealthiest individuals, owns a sizable 5.6-percent stake in the Cairo-based real estate firm.

The Egyptian real estate developer revealed that its profit increased by more than 40 percent in the first quarter of 2022, from EGP217.4 million ($11.36 million) in the first quarter of 2021 to EGP305.8 million ($16 million), owing to sustained growth in demand for properties in Egypt.

As a result of the firm’s strong financial performance, investors on the Egyptian Stock Exchange increased their buying interest in Palm Hills shares, resulting in an 18.6-percent increase in the firm’s stock price from EGP1.13 ($0.059) on June 1 to EGP1.34 ($0.07) on Aug. 14.

Mansour’s 5.6-percent stake in Palm Hills Development has increased in value over the past 74 days, from EGP191.94 million ($10 million) to EGP227.6 million ($11.89 million) at the time of writing.

This equates to a total gain of EGP35.6 million ($1.86 million) for the Egyptian billionaire, who ranks as one of the wealthiest men on the African continent, alongside his brothers Mohamed Mansour and Youssef Mansour, both of whom own Mansour Group and Palm Hills Development.

His net worth is estimated at $1.1 billion, making him one of Africa’s wealthiest businessmen.

Nigerian billionaire businessman Abdul Samad Rabiu has announced the creation of the N10-billion ($23.8 million) Nigeria Security Support Fund through his philanthropic organization, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa). He unveiled the project during a meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock presidential residence in Abuja.

Rabiu launched the initiative to provide security equipment and medical and other supplies to the families of soldiers fighting terrorists in Nigeria’s northeast, and to strengthen local infrastructure.

The contribution marks the single largest donation to a philanthropic cause made by a Nigerian businessman, and follows the $3-million development initiative that Rabiu launched in Niger three weeks ago through ASR Africa. Last week, Rabiu received the Commander of the Order of Merit of Niger Award in recognition of his contributions to the country of Niger and its people.

Rabiu also praised Buhari for creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. He cited policies implemented by his administration, which, he said, aided the growth of his manufacturing conglomerate, BUA Group, which is one of the continent’s fastest-growing commercial groups.

He also promised to support the administration’s efforts in industrial development and security.

Rabiu established ASR Africa in April 2021 to promote long-term, impact-driven solutions to developmental issues affecting health, educational, and social development across Africa.

Sibanye-Stillwater has reduced its output forecast this year for its palladium and platinum mines in Montana by more than 20 percent due to operational challenges caused by regional floods.

Sibanye-Stillwater is a multinational precious metal mining company based in South Africa. Under the leadership of CEO Neal Froneman, the company is involved in gold and base metals mining in South Africa and the Americas.

The South African mining company has reduced its output forecast for its palladium and platinum mines in Montana to 445,000 to 460,000 ounces in 2022 from 550,000 to 580,000 ounces earlier this year.

The decision to reduce its output forecast comes nearly two months after it suspended operations in Montana for seven weeks due to regional floods that disrupted operations on June 13.

Stillwater’s Montana mine accounts for ab08t 60 percent of the mined production from its U.S. PGM operations.

Aside from operational challenges, the decision to reduce its output forecast can be linked to expectations that the palladium market will swing into surplus by the middle of this decade, necessitating operational repositioning in the event of future price weakness.

“Hence, with our view of the palladium market plus the macroeconomic environment we are going to be dealing with going forward, we really need to reconsider what’s the best way of extracting value out of the assets,” Froneman said.

The company’s cautious approach may also result in the postponement of spending on its Blitz project in Montana, as Froneman stated: “It just doesn’t seem to make good or smart commercial sense to spend millions or billions on a capital project that will deliver into price weakness in the future.”

Shares in the mining firm closed trading on Friday at R40.68 ($2.52), 6.14-percent lower than their opening price on the local bourse, in response to the decision to cut its output forecast in the United States, while maintaining the output profile for its operations in South Africa.

Sibanye-Stillwater’s market cap is R115 billion ($7.1 billion) at current prices, while Froneman’s minority 0.074-percent stake in the company is valued at R85.1 million ($5.26 million).