Contrary to some reports that the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) could take over the Dangote Refinery over debts owed by the Dangote Group to banks, the corporation has denied such claims saying it has no business with the group.

Some online news platforms had yesterday reported that Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, could forfeit the Dangote Refinery over a $7 billion debt burden owed to commercial banks in the country with a possible takeover by AMCON.

AMCON however denied such plans. It said neither Dangote Refinery nor the Dangote Group is on its debtors' list and so could not warrant its taking over of the assets.

Head of Corporate Communications at AMCON, Jude Nwauzor, told LEADERSHIP that since the Dangote Group is not on its debtors list, the rumour that it was planning to take over the assets of Dangote Refinery was false.

Multiple sources in the Dangote Group also said the report was "false and malicious", as the group has the capacity to service and pay its debt.

AMCON had in 2010 purchased 12,743 bad loans worth N3.8 trillion from 22 Eligible Financial Institutions (EFIs) for a purchase price of N1.8 trillion. According to AMCON, Dangote Refinery was not part of the bad debts that it took over and there was no way it would be taking over the assets of the company now.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had recently approved the acquisition of 20 per cent minority stake by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemical Refinery.

The Dangote Oil Refinery, is a 650,000-barrel per day (BPD) integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos, Nigeria.

Commenting on the rumoured indebtedness of Dangote Group, an energy finance expert, Dan Kunle, noted that there is nowhere in the world where such projects are done without debt.

According to him, the private sector of any economy is developed through access to loans and a huge project such as the Dangote Refinery is not an exception.

Kunle while noting that the Dangote Refinery project is one of the best things to happen to the country, stressed the need for Nigerians to be optimistic about the project.

He said, "I don't know why some people are negatively fixated on this project. For those of us that are optimistic about it, we believe that the project will be completed and it will be beneficial to the whole country."

Meanwhile, the head of Financial Institutions at Agusto & Co, Ayokunle Olubunmi, has said while the level of loan should be of concern, it is not enough to create apprehension.

"I think it is something that the industry should be concerned about but in my opinion, it is going to be resolved. Although we have not had a syndicated loan this big that had challenges. In the past we have seen syndicated loan that there were issues but were resolved.

"Remember that this is a strategic national asset that is not just for Dangote. The whole nation is waiting for the completion of this project. In the long run, it might take a while and might be challenging but it will be resolved. We also need to bear in mind, Dangote has other businesses that he gets dividend from even though those businesses may not be enough to pay off the loan, but it is something that can actually be looked at.

"It is not a normal loan that we can say this person is defaulting with delays and all. Moreover since the CBN and the federal government are all interested in resolving it, I think there is going to be a way around it."

Billionaire's Fortune Rises To $17.8bn

Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote has significantly moved up in the World billionaires' list as his fortune increased to $17.8billion as against last year's $14.8billion to emerge as the only Nigerian in the Bloomberg's yearly top billionaire lists.

Other Africans on the lists are three South Africans. They are Johann Rupert and family, worth $10.1billion; Nicky Oppenheimer with a worth of $7.80billion and Natie Kirsh who is reputed to worth $7.15billion. Nassef Sawiris from Egypt is also among African billionaires with a worth of $6.93 billion.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world's richest people. In calculating net worth, Bloomberg News strives to provide the most transparent calculations available, and each individual billionaire profile contains a detailed analysis of how that person's fortune is tallied.

The index is a dynamic measure of personal wealth based on changes in markets, the economy and Bloomberg reporting. Each net worth figure is updated every business day after the close of trading in New York. Stakes in publicly traded companies are valued using the share's most recent closing price. Valuations are converted to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates.

Dangote, who remains the richest man in Africa for the 8th year running, was the only Nigerian on the list of the top 120 billionaires, as released on Monday by Bloomberg in its yearly billionaires list.

Ellon Musk and jeff Bezos are the richest in the world with $194billion in their respective kitty while Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates followed respectively with $174billion and $148 billion. Mark Zuckerberg was the fifth richest with $135 billion on the world's billionaires chart.

Bloomberg is a global information and technology company, that connect decision makers to a dynamic network of data, people and ideas - "accurately delivering business and financial information, news and insights to customers around the world" Bloomberg L.P. provides financial software tools such as an analytics and equity trading platform, data services, and news to financial companies and organisations through the Bloomberg Terminal.'

Africa's richest man, with his improved worth of $17.8billion, controls Dangote Industries, a closely-held conglomerate. The Lagos, Nigeria-based company owns sub-Saharan Africa's biggest cement producer, Dangote Cement. It also has interests in sugar, salt, fertiliser and packaged foods.

It would be recalled that Aliko Dangote, was also recently named as the sixth most charitable man in the World by Richtopia, a digital periodical that covers business, economics, and financial news, based in the United Kingdom. This recognition came after he endowed his foundation, the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) to the tune of $1.25billion.

Aliko Dangote started his Foundation in 1981, with a mission to enhance opportunities for social change through strategic investments that improve health and wellbeing, promote quality education, and broaden economic empowerment opportunities.

Aliko Dangote Foundation was however incorporated in 1994 as a charity in Lagos, Nigeria. 20 years later, the Foundation has become the largest private Foundation in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor. The primary focus of Aliko Dangote Foundation is health and nutrition, supported by wrap-around interventions in education, empowerment, and humanitarian relief.

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