Nigeria: Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has announced that his cement company is aiming for a valuation of up to US$40bn on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) when it is floated in 2013. If realised, the company would be valued at several times the size of France's Lafarge.

Dangote's cement empire stretches from Senegal to South Africa, benefiting from a construction boom across one of the world's fastest growing continents. In a difficult global environment for share offerings, Dangote said he was not discouraged by the tumble in Facebook's shares since they listed in May 2012.

"Whereas the assets of Facebook were hype, we have real assets," said Dangote, setting out the market capitalisation he expected for his firm at the listing planned for late 2013. "It depends on the market, but it should be something like
US$35-40bn," said Dangote.

Despite Dangote's desire to present the company as larger than Lafarge, its revenue was in the order of 13 times lower than its French rival in 2011. Dangote highlighted, however, that the company's rapid expansion would make it considerably larger than it is now by the time of the listing, with new plants due to be completed in 13 other African countries by then. Alongside its expansion, he noted that Lafarge is in the midst of a cost-cutting programme in an effort to offset the impact of stagnation in its main markets and to cut its debt.