Business

Dangote says waiting for President Ruto to begin work on $17bn Kenyan refinery

Dangote said, he would need Ruto to offer land, some east African finance and, most important, protection from what he called dumping of cheap fuel from the likes of Russia or India.

Published

4 months ago

May 11, 2026

OCHEFA

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• Ruto, and Dangote

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest industrialist, has stated that he is eyeing Kenya as the site of a huge $17 billion 650,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery he plans to build in east Africa, after questions over a previous push to build the facility in Tanzania.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan last week complained angrily to her Kenyan counterpart William Ruto that she had not been consulted over the earlier plan to build it on her country’s coastline, which was announced in her absence last month at an infrastructure summit.

“I’m leaning more towards Mombasa because Mombasa has a much larger, deeper port,” he told Financial Times in an interview.

He compared Kenya’s port to Tanga, the proposed Tanzanian site for the refinery to process oil from Uganda and the open market.

Dangote estimated it would cost $15 billion to $17 billion to build.“Kenyans consume more.

It’s a bigger economy,” he said, adding that crude oil for the refinery could be transported by ship and need not be located near a pipeline that will carry oil nearly 1,500 kilometres from Ugandan oilfields to the Tanzanian coast at Tanga.“The ball is in the hands of President Ruto,” he said.

“Whatever President Ruto says is what I’ll do,” the Nigerian billionaire added. For the east African refinery to get off the ground, Dangote said, he would need Ruto to offer land, some east African finance and, most important, protection from what he called dumping of cheap fuel from the likes of Russia or India.

“There is no refinery in the world that can survive without that protection,” he said. “If we have an agreement, we can start this year,” he explained. He told the FT he could still build the refinery in Tanzania “if they are able to sort themselves out”.

Related Topics:Dangote Kenya refinery Featured

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Nigeria’s GDP grew 4.43% in Q2 2026, says NBS

The bureau announced this in its latest GDP report for Q2 2026 , emphasising that the latest growth rate is higher than the 4.23 percent recorded in Q2 2025. That represents a 0.2 percentage-point increase year-on-year.

Published

2 hours ago

August 31, 2026

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• President Bola Tinubu

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.43 percent in real terms in the second quarter of 2026.

The NBS GDP report tracks the performance of Nigeria’s economy across sectors. It is a key indicator for policymakers, businesses, and investors monitoring the country’s economic direction.

Business

Emzor Pharma raises N26.7bn bond to boost local drug manufacturing

The bond, issued through Emzor’s special purpose vehicle, Emzor Pharma Funding SPV Plc, carries a 19 percent coupon over a five-year tenor.

Published

10 hours ago

August 31, 2026

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Image: Drugs manufacturing

Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries has raised a $19.8 million (N26.7 billion) Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond on the FMDQ Group Exchange.

The company is aiming to strengthen local pharmaceutical manufacturing and complete West Africa’s first full-scale anti-malarial Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) manufacturing facility.

The bond, issued through Emzor’s special purpose vehicle, Emzor Pharma Funding SPV Plc, carries a 19 percent coupon over a five-year tenor.

It forms part of the company’s broader N40 billion ($29.6 million) bond issuance programme and represents Emzor’s second domestic bond, following strong investor demand that resulted in the issue being oversubscribed.

The funds are expected to support working capital, expand manufacturing capacity and accelerate the completion of the API facility.