Africa’s largest financial institution, Standard Bank Group, has pledged to play a leading role in the planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, as the bank’s Chief Executive made a high-profile visit to the Lagos facility to assess progress and deepen the two organisations’ long-standing partnership.
Standard Bank Chief Executive, Sim Tshabalala led a delegation of senior executives on a tour of both the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and adjacent Dangote Fertiliser complex.
Speaking after the visit, Tshabalala described the refinery as a landmark industrial achievement with implications that stretch well beyond Nigeria’s borders.
“This is a wonder to behold. It is massive, productive and transformative,” he said, adding that the plant is already making a measurable contribution to Nigeria’s foreign reserves, balance of payment performance, and the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians.
Tshabalala confirmed that Standard Bank intends to occupy a central position in the refinery’s upcoming market listing. As Dangote lists, there is an IPO coming up and we are a leading player in that process,” he said.
He added that as the Dangote Group continues to expand across Nigeria and the African continent, Standard Bank stands ready to provide both financial advisory services and balance sheet support.
The visit marks a significant moment in a partnership that stretches back to the refinery’s construction phase. Group Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries, Devakumar Edwin, said the bank’s continued presence reflects the depth of that relationship.
“The bank visited us during construction and understood the scale of what we were building,” he said. “Today, the refinery is fully operational and they can see what their support has helped us to create. It is like nurturing a tree and eventually seeing it bear fruits.”
The Managing Director and CEO of the Dangote Refinery, David Bird, echoed that sentiment, describing Standard Bank as one of the refinery’s strongest and most consistent backers. Seeing is believing, and it allows our partners to appreciate the scale of what has been achieved.
