Dangote says China rival has yet to bite in Nigeria

Nigeria will continue to be the backbone of Dangote’s export ambitions even as competition intensifies in its domestic market, said group chief executive Arvind Pathak during the company’s investor call on Wednesday.

“We are not new to each other,” he said, referring to China’s Huaxin Building Materials Group, formerly Huaxin Cement. “We have been working in the same markets in Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa.”

On 1 December 2024, Swiss building materials group Holcim said it had agreed to sell its 83.81 per cent stake in Lafarge Africa, Nigeria’s third-largest cement maker, to Huaxin for $1bn.

The deal drew scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about foreign dominance in the sector and was also challenged in court by a minority shareholder. It was approved by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on 25 July 2025, according to Lafarge Africa’s earnings report.

“We feel that it will be a responsible operation contributing to the well-being of the country and the customers of Nigeria. In that endeavour, we welcome them to Nigeria. So far, we have not seen any impact of their entry into the country,” Pathak said.

Lafarge Africa steps up

Dangote’s calm response comes days after Lafarge Africa reported a strong 2025 and signalled plans to expand capacity.

The company said revenue topped N1tn in 2025, while profit after tax rose 173 per cent to N273bn, driven by what it described as volume-led growth, cost discipline and tighter financial management.

Chief executive Lolu Alade-Akinyemi called 2025 a “landmark year” for the company. “Reaching the N1tn net sales threshold, a 53 per cent year-on-year increase, marks a historic turning point for our company,” he said in an earnings release on Friday.

With backing from Huaxin, Lafarge Africa is expanding its Ashakacem plant in Gombe state and its Sagamu plant in Ogun state, which would lift total installed capacity to 14m tonnes a year.

“Looking ahead, with Huaxin’s collaboration and industrial expertise, we are excited about the year 2026 and the opportunities ahead,” Alade-Akinyemi said. “We maintain a prudent and agile approach to capital allocation and cost management while positioning the business to capitalise on emerging market opportunities.”

Dangote bets on Nigeria as export hub

Dangote Cement, which operates in 11 African countries and has installed capacity of 55m tonnes a year, is targeting 80m tonnes by 2030 and deepening its export push. The expansion, through a mix of greenfield and brownfield projects, is central to its ambition to make Africa self-sufficient in cement and clinker.

“We have the ambition of being a very large exporter, which is why we initially set a target of 10m tonnes. Given the way things are going, we may even exceed that,” Pathak said. “We roll out our initiatives first in Nigeria and, once we perfect the model, we replicate it across our pan-African operations.”

The company exports clinker by sea from Nigeria to Cameroon and Ghana, and cement by road to Niger and Togo. Pathak said Dangote shipped more than 34 clinker vessels from Nigeria to Ghana and Cameroon in 2025, up from 10 three years earlier.

Exports include supplies to its own grinding and bagging plants, as well as sales to rivals in markets where it operates and elsewhere.

Outside Nigeria, Dangote exports from Senegal to Mali and Gambia, and from Congo to Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Pathak said export sales had risen by more than 200 per cent over the past five years, helping the company move from a monthly foreign-exchange deficit of $22mn to a surplus of about $1mn.

He added that Dangote’s $1bn expansion programme to 2030 included projects to increase sea-dispatch capacity.

“Many of these countries, by virtue of sharing long borders, have easy access to neighbouring markets,” he said. “Given this, Nigeria will continue to be our major export hub, and we believe we are well positioned to be a responsible and leading exporter of cement and clinker in the SSA region.”

Looking beyond Africa

Having built scale across its African business, Dangote is now exploring opportunities further afield.

“Having already explored and performed exceedingly well in Africa and adjacent countries, and with our systems and processes now well established, we see potential in markets beyond Africa. One such market is the Caribbean,” Pathak said.

“Nothing has been finalised; it is still at an exploratory stage, and it is not limited to the Caribbean. We are also exploring other regions globally for the next phase of our export growth,” he added.

A crucial element of that strategy is the competitiveness of Nigerian clinker, which Pathak described as “very good quality” and “export worthy”.

He said the broader export push also formed part of Dangote’s risk-management strategy. “Our overall pan-African strategy – whether in exports or domestic operations – is designed so that we do not put all our eggs in one basket,” he said.

Dangote’s non-Nigerian operations faced tougher conditions last year after two strong years, especially in Cameroon and Senegal. Pathak said volumes dropped 2 per cent to 10.9 million tonnes due to post-election uncertainty in Senegal and South Africa, and liquidity issues in Ethiopia.

“However, the inherent strength of these markets remains,” he said. “These are economies where we want to maintain our presence, and we do not make decisions based on very short-term developments.”

He pointed to a “drastic improvement” in performance in Senegal and Ethiopia, though South Africa had yet to “kick in”. (The Africa Report)