Africa's Biggest Stock Exchange Eyes Major Nigerian Oil Refinery Deal

Valdene Reddy wants the Dangote Refinery listed in Johannesburg. As chief executive of the JSE, she confirmed in recent remarks to CNBC Africa that South Africa’s largest stock exchange is actively pursuing a secondary listing of the Lagos-based facility, one of the most closely watched corporate offerings on the continent this year.

The refinery will list on Nigeria’s exchange first. That much is settled. What comes next is what Reddy is working toward. “They will go and list in Nigeria first but with a strong intent to hopefully bring that listing to South Africa shortly thereafter on the JSE,” she said. “It would be a great opportunity for diversified play of high demand but of such a strong African corporate listing on the JSE.”

The numbers behind the interest are hard to ignore. Dangote Refinery, which commenced operations in 2024, processes 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily from its Lagos base. It has moved aggressively into African and European markets for refined products including jet fuel, capitalizing on disruptions in international energy supply chains. Its planned initial public offering carries a reported valuation near $5 billion, which would make it potentially the largest public offering ever launched on the African continent. Exchanges in Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda are also competing for a share of the transaction.

The JSE holds a structural advantage in that contest. The exchange records average daily trading volumes between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, dwarfing Nigeria’s market at $10 million to $20 million daily and outpacing most other African exchanges by a wide margin. That liquidity depth is precisely what Dangote and similar companies need to attract serious institutional investor attention.

Meanwhile, Reddy described a broader pipeline of capital-raising activity she expects to accelerate in the second half of 2026. Mining companies are exploring public market funding, particularly if commodity prices hold at supportive levels. Real estate investment trusts, infrastructure-linked financial instruments and actively managed exchange-traded funds are drawing increased investor appetite. Fintech firms operating across Africa represent another growth area, with many viewing Johannesburg as preferable to London or New York, where smaller emerging-market companies often struggle to attract attention.

Concerns about company delistings have periodically shadowed South Africa’s capital markets, yet Reddy pushed back on the narrative. The trend has concentrated among smaller and mid-sized firms without significantly reducing overall market capitalization, and some delistings reflect merger and acquisition activity, which can signal underlying company value rather than market weakness. “We focus on the true numbers, which is the capital raise demand and the take-up of that demand, and that pipeline is looking strong and solid into the second half,” she said.

Reddy is assuming leadership of the exchange at a pivotal moment. The JSE is concluding its current 2026 strategic plan and preparing to launch Forge 2031, a new long-term growth initiative. The strategy targets modernized core exchange operations, deeper integration of artificial intelligence and technology across business functions, and new non-trading revenue streams through digital marketplaces, enhanced data products and commercialization of market infrastructure. The exchange is also pursuing regulatory reforms to streamline the listing process and broaden the geographic range of companies eligible for primary or secondary listings.

South Africa’s own economic performance remains a complicating variable. Growth below 2% continues to challenge efforts to attract international capital flows, even as recent structural reforms have encouraged some optimism. Reddy also flagged geopolitical tensions, energy security concerns, inflation pressures and elevated US equity valuations as risks shaping global capital allocation. The exchange is monitoring international trends toward extended trading hours, though Johannesburg intends to approach such changes selectively to preserve market quality.

The question hanging over all of it is whether the Dangote listing, if it lands in Johannesburg, becomes a catalyst that draws further large African corporates to the JSE, or whether competing exchanges manage to close the liquidity gap before that momentum builds.

Additional information on the JSE’s listing strategy and market positioning can be found at https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2026/south-africas-jse-courts-dangote-refinery-listing.