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The massive rush by Nigerians to buy shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery has overwhelmed some local investment and trading platforms, with investors reporting difficulties accessing the apps as the much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) opened on Monday.
The unprecedented demand followed the commencement of the ₦2.15 trillion share offer by Dangote Industries Limited, which is seeking to sell 4.1 billion shares in the refinery at ₦525 per share.
The offer is the largest IPO in Nigeria and one of the biggest in Africa, attracting strong interest from retail and institutional investors.
Bloomberg reported that some Nigerian trading platforms experienced disruptions as investors flooded the systems to place orders for the refinery shares.
The rush highlights the enormous interest generated by the Dangote refinery, which has become one of Nigeria’s most important industrial projects since commencing operations.
The company has set a minimum subscription of 10 shares, meaning investors can participate in the offer with as little as ₦5,250, making the IPO accessible to a large number of Nigerians.
Dangote Industries is targeting up to 10 million retail investors as part of its strategy to broaden ownership of the refinery.
The offer is expected to run until October 13, while the shares are expected to be listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) after the completion of the IPO process.
The strong response from investors came despite the technical difficulties encountered by some trading platforms, underscoring the appetite among Nigerians to own a stake in the refinery.
The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery, located in Lekki, Lagos, is already supplying refined petroleum products to the domestic market and exporting products to other countries.
The facility has significantly altered Nigeria’s petroleum products market, reducing the country’s dependence on imported refined fuels and creating the capacity for Nigeria to emerge as a major exporter of refined petroleum products.
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Dangote Industries said the IPO would provide an opportunity for Nigerians and other investors to participate directly in the ownership of the refinery.
The company is also seeking to raise fresh capital to support the refinery’s expansion and other strategic investments.
Dangote has announced plans to eventually increase the refinery’s capacity to about 1.4 million barrels per day, which would make it one of the largest refineries in the world.
The IPO is also expected to deepen the Nigerian capital market by bringing millions of new retail investors into the equities market.
Market analysts said the huge demand could provide a major boost to the Nigerian Exchange if the refinery’s shares begin trading actively after listing.
The offer comes at a time when investor interest in Nigerian equities has been rising, following strong market performance and renewed foreign and domestic interest in the country’s capital market.
The Dangote refinery IPO is therefore being closely watched by investors, regulators and market operators, with its success expected to have implications for future large-scale listings on the Nigerian Exchange.
For many retail investors, however, the immediate challenge has been gaining access to trading platforms amid the heavy traffic generated by the offer.
The technical disruptions reported on some platforms illustrate the scale of the demand and the growing appetite among Nigerians for digital investment services.
The IPO is expected to remain a major focus of the Nigerian capital market in the coming weeks as investors race to secure shares in what is being positioned as one of the country’s biggest investment opportunities.
