Investors in Kenya are poised to own a stake in Africa’s largest single-train oil refinery without leaving the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) under a proposed depositary receipt programme that would mark the first inward, Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) listing in Africa.

In a note to the market on Thursday, Stanbic Bank Kenya revealed that it will act as receiving and custodian bank for the proposed programme.

This initiative will offer investors in Kenya access to the ongoing initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP) through the Nairobi bourse.

The structure was presented to Kenyan institutional investors and capital-market participants at a pre-market engagement on 29 September 2026.

Under the proposal, investors in Kenya would buy and sell depositary receipts on the NSE in Kenyan shillings, while the underlying Dangote shares remain in custody in Nigeria. 

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) remains the primary market for the shares. 

The new arrangement is intended to target up to $300 million in participation from investors in Kenya according to the transaction advisers.

If approved, it would be the first unsponsored inward GDR programme of its kind in Africa, a structure that allows depositary receipts to be listed without the direct sponsorship of the underlying issuer, provided regulatory conditions are met.

As the receiving bank, Stanbic Bank will collect and safeguard investor subscription funds, reconcile applications, and manage foreign exchange conversion in line with the offer timetable. 

As custodian bank, it would hold the underlying Nigerian shares, maintain the link between the Nairobi-listed receipts and the Lagos-listed shares and process corporate actions, including dividend payout in Kenyan shillings.

Transparency and integrity

“Every depositary receipt traded in Kenya is backed by underlying shares held securely in custody in Nigeria,” Stanbic Bank said, adding that the arrangement is designed to assure investors of transparency and integrity while providing seamless access to “one of Africa’s most significant investment opportunities.”

Jonathan Muga, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at Stanbic Bank Kenya said the mandate reflected rising demand from Kenyan investors for cross-border access through domestic market infrastructure. 

“This mandate underscores the growing demand from Kenyan investors for seamless access to investment opportunities across Africa through trusted local market infrastructure,” he said. “It also reinforces our conviction that African capital should drive Africa’s growth.”

Muga added that the proposed programme demonstrated the value of an integrated pan-African custody and capital markets network, and that the bank looked forward to working with regulators and partners to bring it to market.

Currently, Dangote is offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares on the NGX at NGN525 per share, a total offer size of roughly NGN2.15 trillion (about $1.4 billion at prevailing rates). The offer opened on 14 September 2026 and is scheduled to close on 13 October 2026.

Licensed Kenyan stockbrokers would act as authorised selling agents for the GDR programme, with the GDR issuer setting final allocations under a published methodology.

The programme remains subject to regulatory approvals, documentation, investor demand and final terms, the advisers cautioned. 

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