Botswana’s proposed regional trading role could ease access to the refinery’s share offering, although regulatory hurdles remain.
BONGANI MALUNGA
Botswana is emerging as Southern Africa’s gateway to the US$1.6 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery initial public offering (IPO). The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) has been selected as the regional trading hub under an arrangement coordinated by the Committee of SADC Stock Exchanges (CoSSE).
REGIONAL ACCESS
At an investor roadshow in Gaborone last Wednesday, CoSSE chairman Collen Tapfumaneyi said regional exchanges had agreed to concentrate trading through Botswana. The arrangement could allow investors to use domestic brokers rather than navigate Nigeria’s stock market independently.
Under the proposed structure, Access Bank Botswana will issue Botswana Depository Receipts, each representing one ordinary Dangote Refinery share held in Nigeria by Access Bank Plc. The bank intends to facilitate an offering of up to US$500 million, with trading on the BSE expected to begin on 14 December 2026.
REGULATORY HURDLES
A Reuters investigation published on 9 October found that the Nigerian IPO was not initially registered as a public offering outside Nigeria. Foreign investors consequently faced differing securities regulations and restricted distribution channels.
Kenyan investors encountered weeks of regulatory delays before a separate depositary receipt arrangement was approved, while prospective Rwandan investors had to register with their regulator. Reuters also found that the original prospectus identified only two brokerage channels for investors elsewhere in Africa, compared with 53 for Nigerian investors.
SHARED TRADING
Directing orders through Botswana could help participating markets retain local brokerage activity while drawing on a shared investor pool. Concentrating trading could also improve liquidity, although participating markets must still meet their regulatory requirements.
“This IPO listing has actually shown that we don’t just have to list in Nigeria, we can list in Botswana and Nigerians can also participate. Across the border listings are very important, that’s the only way we can create wealth around the continent,” Dangote told the gathering, indicating that investor interest had exceeded the planned fundraising amount several times over.
OFFER EXTENDED
The Nigerian IPO subscription deadline has been extended from 13 October to 27 October to accommodate broader African participation. Botswana’s designation does not transfer the primary listing from Nigeria, and the arrangement remains dependent on regulatory approvals, functioning trading arrangements and sufficient participation.