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For the second year running, Dangote Cement Plc has maintained its leadership position as the biggest quoted company in West Africa.
According to the latest ranking by London-based African Business Magazine, which publishes an annual list of Africa’s Top 250 Companies, Dangote Cement occupied the first position in West Africa with a market capitalisation of $10.5 billion, followed by AngloGold Ashanti of Ghana ($5.45 billion), and Nigerian Breweries Plc ($4.39 billion).
“Most of the biggest companies in West Africa are Nigerian,” the report said.
“Dangote Cement retains the top spot in the region with a value of $10.5 billion, down from $12.2 billion last year, while even mining giant Anglogold Ashanti has suffered a fall in value from $6 billion to $5.4 billion.”
The drop in value, the report noted, was a global phenomenon, as the combined value of the Top 250 Companies in Africa, shrank from $848 billion the previous year, to $652 billion in the period under review.
However, despite dropping in value from $99.4 billion to $71.5 billion, South African mining giant, BHP Billiton, remains Africa’s biggest quoted company, while Anglo American, another mining company, and SABMiller both of South Africa, came second and third with values of $54 billion and $35 billion, respectively.
“Fears of a double-dip recession in the industrialised world are partly to blame, but ongoing insecurity in Nigeria and political winds of change in North Africa have also depressed share prices in those markets,” the report added.
The other Nigerian companies that made the Top 10 in West Africa include Guaranty Trust Bank Plc ($2.58 billion); Zenith Bank Plc ($2.35 billion); Guinness Nigeria Plc ($2.27 billion); Nestle Nigeria Plc ($2.17 billion); First Bank of Nigeria Plc ($1.78billion); and Stanbic IBTC Plc ($915 million). Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) and Dangote Flour Mills Plc (DFM), two other quoted subsidiaries under Dangote Group, also made the Top 25 list in West Africa.
