Aliko Dangote said he will open an office in New York, United States, to help diversify his investments and avoid the risk of currency fluctuations in Nigeria.

“In Africa, you know we have issues of devaluation, so we want to really preserve some of the family’s wealth,” Dangote told Bloomberg TV’s David Rubenstein Show.

Africa’s richest and 95th richest person in the world, Dangote already operates an office in London.

Although, he has five publicly-listed companies, it is still unsure which he would be opening a branch for in the United States.

The 62-year-old Nigerian businessman became $4.3 billion richer in 2019 as his fortune continued to grow on the back of investments in cement, flour and sugar. The completion of a $12 billion, 650,000 barrel-a-day refinery will also add to his fortunes.

The refinery has the capacity to meet more than Nigeria’s entire fuel consumption and could transform Nigeria’s economy that currently imports all its refined product needs.

The refinery, first announced back in 2013, would produce 400,000 barrels of petrol a day — compared with the 100,000 currently produced.

Dangote is also constructing a fertilizer factory on the same site.

GUARDIAN