17 October 2017
JSW Cement to upgrade Dolvi plant 17 October 2017
India: JSW Cement plans to invest around US$277m towards increasing its production capacity and it is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019 or 2020. The cement producer wants to increase the cement production capacity to 2.2Mt/yr in 2018 from 1Mt/yr at its Dolvi grinding plant in Maharashtra, according to the Press Trust of India. A further expansion to 4.5Mt/yr is scheduled for 2019.
"We expect huge demand for cement in the country and plan to expand our cement manufacturing capacity from 12.5Mt/yr to 20Mt/yr by 2020. We are adding 4.5Mt/yr at our Dolvi unit in Maharashtra and 1.2Mt/yr at out Vijaynagar unit in Karnataka, apart from 1.2Mt/yr adding at our Odisha unit,” said JSW Cement’s managing director Parth Jindal. He added that the company would wait for the outcome of the general election in 2019 and create a ‘healthy’ financial profile before launching the IPO. After raising money in the offering the company plans to reach a 30Mt/yr capacity by 2025 and 50Mt/yr in 2030 both through new builds and acquisitions.
Colombian Superintendent of Industry and Commerce reports evidence of price collusion 17 October 2017
Colombia: The Superintendent of Industry and Commerce (SIC) says that it has found evidence of price collusion from 2010 to 2012 between Cementos Argos, Holcim and Cemex. A report by SIC alleges that the three companies raised the price of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in a coordinated manner, according to the El Espectador newspaper. The producers have been given a time to respond to the allegations and they could face fines of up to US$8m each by the end of 2017.
However, the cement producers have denied the allegations and criticised SIC’s methods. In a response, Cementos Argos described SIC’s analysis of cement prices over a 36-month period as ‘ not appropriate.’ It also pointed out that the regulator had assumed a stable market share between competitors and that its own share had changed between 2007 and 2017.
Corporacion Socialista de Cementos starts second line at Las Llanadas plant in Venezuela 17 October 2017
Venezuela: The Corporacion Socialista de Cementos’ Las Llanadas plant in Trujillo has started its second production line. Following the upgrade the state-owned plant’s cement production capacity will rise to 1.35Mt/yr from 0.5Mt/yr, according to the El Mundo newspaper. The new line was built using Chinese technology.
Europe: The closing date of the merger between refractory manufacturers RHI and Magnesita is expected to be 26 October 2017. This follows approval by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for the prospectus for admission to listing of RHI Magnesita shares on the Premium Listing segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) Main Market for listed securities. The new company, RHI Magnesita, will start trading on the LSE on 27 October 2017.