Dangote, Elumelu, Ovia Among Biggest Losers In Naira Stock Plunge

The last few weeks have been a disaster for many companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s — and Africa’s — richest billionaire may be the biggest loser, according to a ThisDay report by Goddy Egene in AllAfrica.

Dangote was worth $25 billion in November when Forbes listed him as Africa’s richest, but his net worth is now $17.2 billion, according to the report. More than half the losses occurred since early November. As of Nov. 7, Dangote was worth $21.6 billion — $4.4 billion more than today.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, announced close to a 10-percent devaluation of the naira, Nigeria’s currency, after saying the plunge in world oil prices and dwindling dollar reserves were making it hard to defend the value of the currency.
The naira, which was trading at N165 to the dollar in November, is now trading at N187 to the dollar. The devaluation took more than $40 billion off the value of Nigeria’s economy, according to the report.
Africa’s largest cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement lost close to 40 percent of its market value since the beginning of November. The company’s stock, now valued at N165 (88 cents), was trading at N215 ($1.15) in early November. Dangote’s stake was valued at more than $18 billion in early November. Now it’s said to be worth $13.2 billion.
Dangote also owned stakes in publicly-traded Dangote Flour, Dangote Sugar, and National Salt Company of Nigeria. His losses in those companies exceed $230 million, AllAfrica reports.

The second-largest loser in Nigeria’s ultra-rich is Tony Elumelu, chairman of investment company Heirs Holdings. Owned wholly by Elumelu, Heirs is the controlling shareholder in Transcorp, a publicly-listed conglomerate of hotels, power production and agriculture. Transcorp is worth $700 million, down from $1.4 billion at the beginning of November, AllAfrica reports. Heirs lost about $345 million on Transcorp, and its stake in the company is now worth about $400 million, down from $700 million.

Elumelu also has investments in other listed companies including Africa Prudential PLC, UBA Capital and UBA.
Nigerian multi-millionaire banker Jim Ovia, a co-founder of Zenith Bank, owns 9 percent stake of the bank. His stake in the financial services provider is $240 million, down from more than $350 million in January, according to AllAfrica