September 2024
Sri Lankan government queries sale of Holcim Lanka 24 June 2016
Sri Lanka: The Industry and Commerce Ministry has queried the sale of Holcim Lanka, LafargeHolcim’s business on the island. Industry and Commerce Ministry Secretary TMKB Tennakoon contacted Holcim Lanka in March 2016 to point out that the government has not benefitted from deals with the cement producer to allow it to build a quarry and that it can control attempts to sell some of its assets, according to the Daily News newspaper.
Tennakoon has raised the issue that the Sri Lankan government is not making profit out of a lease agreement, started in 1993, which gave Holcim Lanka mineral rights to a quarry in Aruwakkalu, Puttalam. In addition the cement producer was granted a 12-year tax holiday on funds borrowed from within Sri Lanka, the ministry claims. The ministry has informed Holcim Lanka that it is in the process of evaluating the terms and conditions of the agreement ‘in order to gain more benefits to the industry and the country’ and warns Holcim Lanka that in the terms of Section 4(b) of the agreement, Holcim Lanka cannot transfer or sub-let the premises without the consent of the government-owned Cement Corporation.
LafargeHolcim announced that it was leaving the cement business in Sri Lanka in early June 2016. The Industry and Commerce Ministry was expressed its interest in buying the local company.
Crimea’s only integrated cement plant to get upgrade 23 June 2016
Crimea: JSC Bakhchysarai Factory Stroyindustriya, the only cement producer in Crimea, is implementing a modernisation programme. The company intends to change from the wet process to the semi-dry process, increasing its cement production capacity to 1.2Mt/yr, while considerably reducing the cost of production.
Azerbaijan: In the five months of 2016, cement production in Azerbaijan decreased by 30.3%. This is primarily due to the fall in business activity and a reduction in public investment in the economy. In January - May 2016 cement production was 829,000t, according to the State Statistics Committee. Over the same period concrete plants produced just 177,000t of concrete, 60% less than for the comparable period of 2015.
Quarry workers kidnapped in Nigeria 23 June 2016
Nigeria: Seven limestone quarry workers are in the hands of kidnappers in Nigeria after a deadly roadside attack. The men were in a group driving on the outskirts of the city of Calabar, Cross River State, when they were attacked by gunmen on 22 June 2016. The Nigerian driver of the vehicle was shot dead, while seven - three Australians, two Nigerians, one South African and one New Zealander - were kidnapped. A fourth Australian was able to escape.
The men were working for Australia-based mining company Macmahon Holdings, which mines material for processing at Lafarge Africa's UniCem cement plant at Mfamosing, in the southeast of Nigeria.
Eyewitness Akan Akpan said the kidnappers had fled with the seven men in a boat. "The kidnappers came out from the bridge, shot the driver of the vehicle and took the victims away through on river," he told Nigeria’s Punch.
The identity of the kidnappers is not known. “We are working to ensure the safe return of all the men involved and are in communication with their families," said Macmahon in a statement.
HeidelbergCement set for acquisition of Italcementi 22 June 2016
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gave HeidelbergCement permission to complete its acquisition of Italcementi assets in the US on 17 June 2016. This was the second and final major competition body that could have challenged the purchase, following approval by the European Commission in late May 2016. Although the FTC consent now faces a month for comment the deal is looking likely to complete towards the end of the summer.
HeidelbergCement and Italcementi have gotten away with having to sell just one cement plant and 11 terminals in the US. The Lafarge-Holcim merger in 2015 had it tougher. Those companies were forced to sell two cement plants, two slag grinding plant and a host of terminals. Admittedly LafargeHolcim is now the biggest cement producer in the US (and the world) but HeidelbergCement will hold more integrated cement plants in the US following its acquisition.
As predicted the FTC took exception with the proximity of the company’s assets in West Virginia and Pennsylvania following the acquisition. So the parties have agreed to sell the Essroc Martinsburg integrated cement plant in West Virginia. When Global Cement visited the plant in late 2013 the staff told us that cement from the plant was distributed from central Ohio eastwards to western Pennsylvania and south to southern Virginia. The plant also switched over to a FLSmidth dry production line in 2010 giving it a clinker production capacity of 1.6Mt/yr, making it one of the newer plants in the Essroc stable.
The FTC also flagged up competition concerns in five metropolitan areas: Baltimore-Washington, DC; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia; Syracuse, New York; and Indianapolis, Indiana. In light of this the proposed consent agreement requires the merged company to divest seven Essroc terminals in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania and a Lehigh terminal in Solvay, New York. Two additional Essroc terminals in Columbus and Middlebranch, Ohio are to be sold at the option of the buyer and subject to FTC approval. Finally, Essroc’s terminal in Indianapolis is to be sold to Cemex.
Funnily enough, the FTC took about a year to approve both the merger of Lafarge and Holcim and HeidelbergCement’s purchase of Italcementi. This compares to the European Commission which took nine months to approve the Lafarge-Holcim deal but which took 11 months to clear the HeidelbergCement-Italcementi one. Given the greater overlap of assets of the Lafarge-Holcim merger in both Europe and the US one might have thought that the approval process would have taken longer. Or maybe bureaucracy moves at a speed all of its own. Read into this what you will. The creation of the world’s second largest multinational cement producer draws closer.
Nigeria: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raided the Lagos office of the Bank of Industry (BOI) following an investigation. Officials of the development bank say that the raid was part of the investigation by the EFCC of the allegation of misapplied funds belonging to the Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN), according to All Africa.
In a statement the BOI said that concerns regarding the new terms on how to manage a fund accrued from tariffs on imported cement between 2011 and 2015 had been addressed. The bank was appointed by the federal government to use the money to develop the country’s cement industry. However, following the creation of Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN) the BOI was asked in 2013 to transfer the fund to CITN. This did not happen. On 17 June 2016 the fund had grown to US$47m in the BOI’s accounts.
India: Kanodia Group has launched its new cement brand ‘Bigcem’ at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The product will be targeted at markets in Uttarakhand and Western Uttar Pradesh to start with followed by expansion in Delhi and the National Capital Region, according to the Hans India newspaper. Gautam Kanodia, director of Kanodia Group, said that the product is expected to give 40% more strength than the general Bureau of Indian Standards standard.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to increase stake in Holcim Azerbaijan cement factory to 20% 22 June 2016
Azerbaijan: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to increase its stake in Holcim Azerbaijan to 20% from 10%.
"The EBRD is considering an additional investment in Holcim OJSC to increase the bank's stake in the company, with a view to extend its participation in the business," the EBRD said in a statement. The bank intends to support the company’s energy efficiency through the use of alternative fuels. On 20 July 2016 the EBRD board of directors will start a preliminary review of the issue of increasing the stake in Holcim Azerbaijan.
Holcim Azerbaijan produces 35 - 40% of Azerbaijan's cement and clinker. The company's main shareholders are LafargeHolcim (66%), EBRD (10%) and Holcim Auslandbeteiligungs GmbH (10%).
Australia: Adelaide Brighton says it has prepared for an acquisition of the operations of LafargeHolcim in Australia and New Zealand. Chief executive Martin Brydon confirmed the plans to The Australian newspaper. He added that the plan includes measures to cope with competition issues that could arise from the takeover. However, Brydon admitted that LafargeHolcim has not declared if it is actually selling its assets in the region.
Syria: LafargeHolcim has dodged accusations by La Monde that Lafarge entered into deals with armed groups in Syria, including Islamic State (IS), to protect its business interests in the country. In a statement LafargeHolcim said that its first priority was the safety and security of its employees at its Jalabiyeh cement plant before it eventually closed the plant. It did not deny the accusations.
Le Monde reported it had seen letters sent by Lafarge managers in Syria revealing arrangements that Lafarge made with the jihadist group to continue production until 19 September 2014 and to arrange access for staff and supplies. The French newspaper also alleges that Lafarge bought licences from and paid taxes to IS middle-men and oil traders.
Lafarge operated the 3Mt/yr Jalabiyeh cement plant from 2010 to 2014. In September 2014, Lafarge stopped operating the plant. After that, all employees were evacuated, put on paid leave and were no longer allowed to access the plant. In December 2014 Lafarge decided to terminate all employee contracts, and where possible, transfer employees to other parts of the group.