Dangote: Nigeria’s currency woes will not alter expansion plans

Dangote Cement’s annual general meeting, held in Lagos, has seen Aliko Dangote set out his plans to grow the business despite worsening economic conditions, particularly in the company’s Nigerian base.

According to reports in This Day, Mr Dangote claimed that foreign exchange volatility – a reference to the Nigerian government’s resistance to calls to devalue the naira – would have no significant impact on the company and its expansionary strategy.

Addressing the AGM, Mr Dangote said: "The way we have gone about our expansion, it would appear we have over invested in capacity expansion in Nigeria given that at 29Mta and we have another 12Mta capacity plants under construction. But the truth of the matter is that investments can never be enough in Nigeria. We need it.

"We began the year with three factories in Nigeria, a small import operation in Ghana and several building sites across Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of the sizable investments that we have made over the past few years, Dangote Cement ended the year with new lines in Nigeria, factories becoming operations in Senegal and South Africa.

"As a result of all these initiatives, I believe our company is well on its way to be a global and respected force in cement production, operating an efficient plants in exiting growth markets that will generate substantial returns for shareholders for many years to come."