United Capital Financial Services Ethiopia (UCFS Ethiopia) has been appointed as a joint issuing house, official stockbroker and lead distributor for the initial public offering (IPO) of Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery, creating a new cross border investment opportunity for qualified Ethiopian investors.

A subsidiary of United Capital PLC, UCFS Ethiopia will coordinate local investor participation and share distribution alongside CBE Capital, Wegagen Capital and Awash Capital. The offering will operate under the oversight of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) and Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX).

The IPO involves 4.1 billion shares valued at approximately USD 1.5 billion, with plans to attract more than 10 million shareholders, according to UCFS Ethiopia.

The investment opportunity was unveiled during the Dangote IPO Ethiopia Investor Roadshow held in Addis Ababa on October 15, attended by industrialist Aliko Dangote, capital market representatives and prospective investors.

With a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, Dangote Petroleum Refinery is described as the world’s largest single train refinery, strengthening Africa’s energy security and industrial capacity.

UCFS Ethiopia has also proposed introducing an Ethiopian Depository Receipt (EDR), allowing eligible local investors to hold interests in the foreign listed company through a locally issued financial instrument.

United Capital executives Ejikeme Okoli and Peter Ashade highlighted the initiative’s potential to deepen African capital market integration and expand cross border investment.

Participation remains restricted to qualified institutional investors under Ethiopian regulations. UCFS Ethiopia clarified that its role is limited to share distribution, excluding local securities brokerage and trading services.

Source: Capital Ethiopia Newspaper