The planned stock market listing of Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has attracted demand estimated at around three times the initial offer, according to Reuters, highlighting strong investor interest in one of Africa’s largest industrial projects.

The subscription period is scheduled to close on Tuesday, following an extension designed to give more investors, particularly across Africa, time to participate in the offering.

The initial public offering covers 4.1 billion shares priced at 525 naira each, with the company seeking to raise approximately $1.6 billion.

In response to strong demand, the group could exercise an over-allotment option that would increase the total value of the offering to approximately $2.1 billion. However, the option has not been officially confirmed.

The offer opened on September 14 and was initially scheduled to close on October 13. The deadline was subsequently extended to October 27 to allow more investors to complete the necessary account-opening, identity verification and regulatory procedures.

The offering has attracted attention beyond Nigeria’s domestic market. According to Nairametrics, citing Bloomberg, investors from 119 countries reportedly submitted subscription requests. These figures are based on sources familiar with the matter and have not been confirmed in a final official statement from the refinery.

The IPO aims to broaden the company’s shareholder base and create opportunities for retail and institutional investors, including those elsewhere in Africa. However, differences in national regulations and barriers to cross-border investment continue to complicate access to capital markets across the continent.

The Dangote Refinery has a stated processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of oil per day. The company aims to increase that capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029, further expanding the scale of the industrial complex.

The stock market listing is expected to broaden ownership of the refinery and support its development ambitions. It also represents a test of investor appetite for large African businesses and of the ability of the continent’s financial markets to attract capital across national borders.

With subscriptions closing, attention will turn to the final tally of investor orders, the allocation of shares and the timetable for listing. The final level of demand and any decision to exercise the over-allotment option remain subject to official confirmation.