Dangote dismisses African slump

Aliko Dangote intends to launch several new cement and sugar plants as well as mines across Africa, accelerating expansion outside of Nigeria and dismissing a downturn in the African market.

A slump in commodity prices, lower demand from China and investment downturns towards the risky emerging markets has hit African economies and state budgets hard, raising borrowing costs and the prospect of instability.

But the Nigerian billionaire has announced that his industrial empire would expand its cement production in several African countries, betting on a future construction boom.

In August, his Dangote Cement announced that it had signed contracts worth US$4.34 billion with China's Sinoma International Engineering Co. to build cement plants and boost production by 25 million t annually.

Edited from source by Joseph Green. Source: Reuters

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