Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has seen his wealth decline by $2.6 billion after a surge in April fueled by the Nigerian naira’s rally.
Dangote sees $2.6-billion wealth decline after naira rally fizzles
The decline follows a brief uptick in April fueled by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) efforts to address a backlog of dollar obligations, which strengthened the naira. That rally propelled Dangote’s wealth to $17.7 billion but proved short-lived. With the naira now the world’s worst-performing currency, Dangote has now suffered significant wealth losses.
However, the recent naira weakness against the U.S. dollar has reversed Dangote’s year-to-date gains. From a peak increase of over $2.6 billion on April 16, his wealth increase has shrunk to a mere $28 million.
This decline is primarily due to the impact of the naira’s depreciation on his 86 percent stake in publicly traded Dangote Cement, alongside his holdings in Dangote Sugar, Nascon Allied Industries, and United Bank for Africa.
Naira slumps, renewing pressure on CBN for rate hike
The naira’s recent slide has intensified calls for the CBN to raise interest rates. The currency has depreciated to a fresh low of 1,466.31 per dollar, weighed down by a scarcity of U.S. dollars in the domestic market.
This volatility follows the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu’s, relaxation of foreign exchange controls in June. Since then, the naira has shed roughly 68 percent of its value against the greenback. This raises the prospect of another interest-rate increase by the CBN at its forthcoming policy meeting on May 21.
-Billionaire.Africa