June 21, 2015
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man according to Forbes, is planning to expand his cement business in to Asia by building a factory in Nepal, a country that was hit by a devastating earthquake in April.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Dangote said his company, Dangote Cement, is in the last stages of receiving approval from regulators to start constructing a factory in the south Asian nation and he expected it to be operational in 30 months.
“It’s going to be one of the first factories for us to build outside our comfort zone, outside Africa,” Dangote told Bloomberg, adding that any further expansion outside Africa will be through acquisitions.
The Nigerian tycoon, who is estimated to be worth about $15 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has made his fortune mainly through his cement company that has been on an aggressive expansion path across Africa.
He also has sizable investments in the sugar business and recently invested $9 billion in a Nigerian oil refinery. He’s also said before that he will invest undisclosed amount in Tanzanian coal mines.
Through his charity Dangote has donated $1 million to the Nepal government after a deadly earthquake in April killed thousands. He is also moving in to help the south Asian country reconstruct after the disaster.
Last year, Dangote donated $1.2 billion and shares of his publicly listed firms to a foundation he had formed about two decades ago.
Source: AFK Insider