News
Naira Gain Against U.S Dollar Boosts Dangote’s Wealth To $15.3 Billion
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man has seen a phenomenal rise in fortune coinciding with the comeback of the Nigerian naira on both official and unofficial markets. Dangote’s net worth has reached a total of $15.3 billion according to data collated from the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Dangote’s fortune had gone through a turbulent era before its current boom, which represents a substantial turnaround for the company. His net worth fell below $13.5 billion earlier this month, indicating a loss of several billion dollars in a matter of weeks.
But Dangote’s wealth has revived thanks to the naira’s recent gain. Investors and market watchers have applauded the rise of the Nigerian Naira versus the US dollar, which has fueled renewed confidence in the local economy.
Since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it has cleared all foreign currency (FX) backlog, the naira has continued to appreciate steadily, gaining more than 4% of its value against the dollar due to increases in dollar availability, to trade below N1400/$.
To boost trust and confidence in the Nigerian economy, the CBN Governor stressed how critical it is to resolve the foreign exchange backlog.
The CBN recently disclosed it successfully paid off $7 billion in inherited claims and cleared all valid foreign exchange backlogs.
The naira could appreciate by up to 25% versus the dollar this year, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Standard Chartered Plc. This is because of large interest rate rises and other measures taken to draw in foreign money.
Since June, when newly elected President Bola Tinubu abolished Nigeria’s long-standing practice of manipulating the exchange rate in addition to other measures aimed at luring foreign capital and bolstering the country’s economy, the value of the naira has declined twice.
Investors are hanging onto Dangote Cement, the billionaire family’s highly valued company that has endured price wars, inflation, and the currency crisis. Dangote Cement recorded a 36% increase in sales year over year, reaching $1.44 billion for; last year. The producer’s profit after taxes increased to US$300 million, a 19% increase. Dangote Cement’s market share gain in Africa persisted, as pan-African volumes increased by 13% to 11.3 metric tons. As of now, Dangote Cement’s stock has increased by 114.7%.
Aliko Dangote also intends to establish an oil trading company, perhaps headquartered in London, to manage the supply of crude and other goods for his new refinery in Nigeria
Such a move will tame the reliance on the world’s largest trading companies, after negotiating for months with them to give the refinery funding and crude oil in exchange for product exports. With its massive 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery, the world’s oil and gasoline flows are about to be redirected, and the trading community is closely monitoring its operations.
Consequently, the 66-year-old entrepeneur announced the free distribution of one million ten-kg rice bags throughout Nigeria in support of the Federal Government’s Palliative Program, which aims to fight hunger and ensure food security for Nigerians.
One million bags of rice are reportedly being distributed to Nigerians by Dangote as part of the company’s intervention to address the growing socioeconomic hardship that most Nigerians face.
The Kano-born billionaire stated that the Dangote Group spent N5 billion to secure one million bags of 10 kg rice for Nigerians, as he simultaneously kicked off the rice distribution on Saturday in Lagos, the group’s headquarters, and Kano State, the man’s native land.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Sector Command, has confirmed the death of a woman in an accident at Okpoko Market on the Asaba-Onitsha Road.
The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident to journalists in Awka on Thursday, said that the woman was hit while she was crossing the road.
He said that the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, involved a commercial tow truck with registration number XA550BMA.
“Eyewitness report reaching us indicates that the truck was towing a vehicle in an uncontrollable speed along the axis.
“The vehicle that was being towed got detached from the tow truck.
“It hit and killed a female adult, who was said to be crossing the road, while the tow truck continued its movement.
“FRSC rescue team came to the scene and took the woman to Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, where she was confirmed dead and her body deposited at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said.
While sympathising with the family of the dead, the sector commander urged motorists, especially tow truck drivers, to exercise a high level of professionalism.
He also urged the drivers to always use standard equipment and avoid speeding.
The Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.
Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.
“The major benefit of the palliative is that it actually cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.
“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.
He noted that prior to the palliative, a crate of egg was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells between N3,200 and N3,400.
According to the PAN chair, retailers and middlemen who sell from N3,800 to N4,200 do that for their personal gain.
“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.
“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the federal government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector.
“This will consequently lead to drop in the prices of all poultry produce across board,” he said.
He said the palliative was shared among financial members of the association at no extra cost.
“As an association we shared the grains equally across PAN’s eight zones in the state equally. We also mandated each zone not the sell even a grain of the maize.
“We, however, considered new poultry farmers who wanted to the join the association as beneficiaries of the palliative,” said Iyiola.
He noted that through the palliative, more poultry farmers were recruited into the association.
“The maize was shared only to poultry farmers and not feed millers, it is the major component of poultry feed formulation,” he said.
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