The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is set to partner with Nigeria’s Dangote group to bolster intra-African trade. A statement by Afreximbank in Lagos said the bank’s President, Benedict Oramah, undertook this development while on a visit to Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group.
To prompt economic development and integration, Oramah’s plan was to deepen the focus on developing and promoting trading activities among African countries. His bank will ensure that this collaboration with Africa’s largest conglomerate yields positive results in the field of intra-African trade.
Dangote had said his group’s present initiatives included construction of a 650,000-oil-barrel capacity refinery in Nigeria and the expansion of a cement plant in Ethiopia and cross-border trade in cement. With radical expansion across the continent, the Dangote Group is succeeding in making African nations less import-dependent by promoting local production.
A report filed at the Nigerian Stock Exchange last month, indicated a high turnover and profit margin for Dangote Cement Plc for its third quarter. The Pan-African cement giant rose to N365.45 billion, a 17.8 per cent increase from last year’s N310.21 billion. Pretax profit for the period also increased to N166.91 billion from N154.05 billion a year ago.
The unaudited results of the past nine months show that the group’s earnings per share rose by 18.6% from N8.26 Naira to N9.80. This year, the cement group recorded an operating profit of N173.5 billion, a 6.8% increase from N162.5 billion last year.
