Africa’s wealthiest businessman Aliko Dangote recorded a N234.38-billion ($571.06 million) boost to his net worth at the end of trading on Sept. 29 on the Nigerian Exchange, as shares in his flagship company Dangote Cement Plc surged by 6.53 percent.

The half-billion-dollar gain can be attributed to sustained investor buying interest, as the stock price maintained the N245.00 ($0.60) per share price mark for 26 days.

Sustained buying interest on the Nigerian bourse throughout the day saw the market value of the cement maker’s shares surge by 6.53 percent from N245 ($0.60) at the opening of the market to N261 ($0.64) per share by close of business.

The recent share price appreciation is the highest price gain in a day since December 2020, when shares in the company surged by 9.9 percent amid news of its decision to commence its share buy-back program to repurchase about 10 percent of its issued shares.

Meanwhile, investor buying interest in the cement behemoth on Sept. 29 caused the market value of Dangote’s stake to increase from N3.59 trillion ($8.74 billion) early morning to N3.82 trillion ($9.31 billion) by evening.

The price appreciation notched a N234.38-billion ($571.06 million) gain for the billionaire in less than 10 hours. Meanwhile, the market capitalization of his flagship company increased from N4.17 billion ($10.17 billion) to N4.45 trillion ($10.84 billion).

The recent price increase in its market valuation follows a report on Friday that the board of directors of Dangote Cement would hold a board meeting on Oct. 28 to approve and publish its Q3 financial results.

The behemoth posted N196 billion ($476.3 million) in profit in the first half of 2021. The profit represented a 51.9-percent growth compared to last year’s figures.

The billionaire controls more than 85 percent of Dangote Cement, making him the majority shareholder of the cement behemoth. As of press time, his net worth was valued at $17.9 billion, making him the wealthiest Black man globally.