Billionaire Benny Peters eyes fresh fortune abroad
It is a known fact that a man is never all beauty without blemish. So is the self-effacing billionaire, Benedict Peters. One of the strengths of this energy tycoon ironically harbours his weakness: he takes life easy. For the self-made businessman with the Midas touch, he wears entrepreneurship like a badge of honour. It’s what defines him.
And undoubtedly, the founder of Aiteo Group —one of Africa’s fastest-growing energy companies— has emerged one of Nigeria’s wealthiest businessmen and remains one of the privileged billionaires with offshore assets. For a long while, Peters has been navigating the stormy oil business world and escaping the sharks coming his way.
But if there is one challenge this stupendously rich magnate has not been able to summon courage to beat, it’s to end his self-imposed exile. For about eight years, Peters has chosen Accra, Ghana as his new home and is not ready to leave anytime soon. Despite his absence in Nigeria, his energy conglomerate hasn’t suffered just as he is also having a ball expanding his business frontiers in the international arena with operations in several Africa countries.
Peters, 56, in 2019 made headlines when he embarked on a platinum mining venture in Zimbabwe. His offshore company, Bravura Holdings acquired a 3,000-hectare concession and had plans to establish a mine in Selous, located 80 kilometres south of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. However, it was learnt that Peters’ initial enthusiasm for the platinum mine development project in the Maflox Claims area of Selous has suffered some setbacks since the arrival of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and issues around regulatory requirements.
However, Peters has been seeking every opportunity to resolve concerns and find a way forward for the project. While that’s ongoing, the Nigerian billionaire is also exploring opportunities for new investments and partnerships in Zimbabwe’s resource-rich industry. He was said to have discreetly shifted his attention to a huge lithium deposit in Kamativi, a small mining town in Zimbabwe. The Delta State-born magnate’s Bravura Holdings presently holds concessions for cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, copper mining in Zambia, and gold mining in Ghana.
– The Sun
