Buy in Naira, Get paid in dollars: Dangote unveils unusual dividend plan for Refinery IPO

Aliko Dangote has unveiled a rare dividend plan aimed at making the upcoming listing of his $20 billion refinery more attractive to investors: shareholders will receive their dividends in US dollars, even though they will buy the shares in naira.

Speaking at an event in Lagos, Dangote said the company is currently working with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and the Securities and Exchange Commission to finalise the structure ahead of the refinery’s planned 2026 listing.

“You buy in naira, but you get dividends in dollars,” he told participants at the Eko Hotel gathering, according to BusinessDay.

Dangote explained that the refinery and petrochemicals complex expects to earn $6.4 billion from exports, including polypropylene and fertiliser, providing a steady source of hard currency for payouts.

The dollar-dividend plan is part of a larger expansion strategy. The Dangote Group projects its revenue will jump from $18 billion today to $100 billion by 2030, a level that Dangote says will place the conglomerate among the world’s top 100 companies by size. The group is also targeting a market value above $200 billion.

The billionaire said the refinery would offer about 10 percent of its shares to the public when the IPO opens. While global listings are possible in the future, he stressed that the priority is to deepen the Nigerian market.

“We want the Dangote Refinery to be the golden stock of the exchange,” he said.

The 650,000-barrel-a-day refinery began producing diesel and jet fuel early in the year, and petrol in September. Dangote added that capacity is expected to rise to 1.4 million barrels per day within three years.

In November, Dangote Refinery sealed a partnership with multinational giant Honeywell to provide services that will enable the refiner double its crude refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2028.

If completed, the expansion would make Dangote the largest petroleum refinery in the world.

Why this matters to investors

A dollar-denominated dividend offers a built-in hedge against the naira’s volatility -something rare in the Nigerian market. It may help the refinery attract strong participation despite currency risks. But sustained dollar payouts may depend heavily on export performance and Nigeria’s broader foreign-exchange environment.