BUA was set up to undertake the importation and marketing of iron & steel, agricultural, industrial chemicals and other manufacturing activities. However, in 2003, the Federal Government rolled out attractive incentives for the real sector. With this development, this quintessential entrepreneur restructured his business by way of investing in the real sector of the Nigerian economy.
In a shift of focus which would pay off with dramatic business expansion, Rabiu veered into acquisition of public enterprises which had just been put up for sale by the Bureau of Public Enterprises. Amongst other things, he bid for and won concession rights for the Port Harcourt Ports, later renamed BUA Ports and Terminals Limited. BUA International Limited was also adjudged the Preferred Bidder for the Delta Steel Company, Aladja.
His ever-expanding conglomerate boasts of several subsidiaries, each showing impressive operating results on all indices.
He has gone on to acquire the Lafiaji Sugar Company in Kwara State. This is in addition to 100% equity ownership and finance of BUA Sugar Refinery Ltd, one of Africa’s largest, ultra-modern sugar refining companies. With these strategic and visionary investments, the Refinery is poised to become a major exporter of sugar to the European market.
In addition to the asset-rich business concerns already mentioned, Abdulsamad is a major player in the cement industry in Nigeria. He owns flour mills in Lagos and Kano, BUA Oil & Gas Company at Ibafon, oil tankers and the Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, Kano. He is also a major player in real estate with three residential estates in Abuja alone!
Today, the BUA Group has been nurtured from a relatively small company in 1988 to a world-class conglomerate in terms of gross operating assets and turnover. This is in addition to heavy portfolio investments in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.