LAMU, Kenya- Kenyans will be offered an opportunity to buy shares in the Dangote East Africa Refinery through the Nairobi Securities Exchange, President William Ruto has announced, alongside plans for a direct government stake in the project.
Speaking during the refinery’s groundbreaking ceremony in Lamu on Wednesday, Ruto said the government would invest through the National Infrastructure Fund and deploy national assets, including land, towards its participation.
“For the record, as our brother Aliko Dangote mentioned, the Government of Kenya will hold a direct stake in this refinery,” Ruto said.
“We do not seek anything for free; we will deploy national assets — including land — and utilise the National Infrastructure Fund to invest in this facility.”
Ruto said ownership would extend beyond the government and institutional investors, with ordinary Kenyans able to purchase equity through the NSE.
“Through the Nairobi Securities Exchange, shares will be made available to the public so that ordinary citizens across the country can buy equity and own a piece of this refinery,” he said.
The announcement sets out a proposed route for public participation in the project. Ruto did not specify when the shares would be offered, their price, the minimum investment or the proportion of ownership reserved for the public.
Those details will determine how Kenyans can participate and the amount they would need to invest.
Ruto’s remarks confirmed that Kenya intends to participate as an investor in the refinery, using both national assets and funding.
However, he did not disclose the percentage the government would acquire, the value assigned to the land contribution or the amount to be committed through the National Infrastructure Fund.
The proposed government holding and the public share offer are distinct parts of the ownership plan outlined in his address.
The refinery, whose groundbreaking was led by Ruto and Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote, is planned to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Dangote pledged during the ceremony to commission the facility within 40 months.
In encouraging Kenyans to invest, Ruto pointed to what he described as an increase in the NSE’s total market capitalisation from Sh2 trillion three years ago to Sh4.2 trillion today.
He said the growth demonstrated the opportunities available through share ownership.
“Anyone who held shares on the NSE three years ago has seen their investment double,” he said.
However, a rise in total market capitalisation does not mean every shareholder’s investment has doubled.
Market capitalisation measures the combined value of listed companies, while individual returns depend on the shares purchased, their buying price, subsequent price movements and dividends.
