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Standard Bank, which is playing a leading role in the mooted initial public offering (IPO) of the Dangote refinery, is sweating the ecosystem of the mega refinery as it flexes its deal-making muscle on the continent.Bill Blackie, CEO of Standard Bank’s business and commercial banking franchise, on Thursday hailed the group’s ability to understand the networks around a client and support them across relationships, platforms, structures and different stages of growth.“Recently, Helmut Engelbrecht, our regional CEO for West Africa, who is with us today, visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos. By all accounts, it is a world-class facility. Projects of that scale are never just a single business; they are ecosystems of hundreds of suppliers, contractors and logistics operators,” he said at the company’s Africa Unlocked Conference held in Cape Town.“Our team in Nigeria has supported 300 businesses in the Dangote value chain with the solutions needed to deliver and sustain the operations of this world-class facility. It is a practical example of how ecosystem capability changes what is possible for our clients and for the economies we serve.”The group, via its corporate and investment banking behemoth led by Luvuyo Masinda, is the lead adviser to the proposed IPO, advising on the structuring, execution and marketing of the transaction.The IPO is designed to fuel the Dangote Group’s plans to invest $40bn over the next five years to increase its urea fertiliser production and expand the refinery.At 700,000 barrels per day, it is the largest refinery on the continent and is already reshaping Nigeria’s fuel supply dynamics.Acting as lead adviser allows the Standard Bank to bridge African opportunities with international investors — sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and institutional asset managers — while also deepening local participation.The Africa regions have become an integral part of Standard Bank’s growth story, with countries outside South Africa contributing about 40% of its revenue.Lungisa Fuzile, CEO of Africa regions at the lender, said the bank is continuously looking at expanding its clients’ horizons.“At the end of last month, Standard Bank and our strategic partners at ICBC [Industrial and Commercial Bank of China] were jointly authorised by the People’s Bank of China to operate as the Renminbi Clearing Bank of Africa. This makes Standard Bank the first African-based bank in history to receive renminbi clearing status for transactions across 19 African countries,” he said.“This builds on our admission to China’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System in November last year, when we became the first African bank on that network, processing half a billion dollars in renminbi transactions in our first four months alone.”Blackie used the conference to showcase some of the franchise’s other success case studies, such as its funding of Hungry Lion.“Two years ago, at this conference, Adrian Basson from Hungry Lion spoke about an ambition to open 100 stores a year across Africa. Today, that ambition has turned into lived reality,” Blackie said.“Hungry Lion has already opened more than 500 stores across nine countries, employing 10,000 people, and is now on track to open 250 stores this year, which would take them to 750 stores by year-end. It is a clear example of what determined execution looks like when an African business is built for African consumers and decides to scale at pace on this continent.”
