September 2024
Peru/China: China's Jidong Development Group may finalise discussions regarding the takeover of Peruvian cement firm Cementos Interoceanicos in the next couple of weeks, according to local media. With the acquisition, Jidong will be able to further expand its global reach.
Jidong representatives have visited Cementos Interoceanicos' activities in Puno, southeast Peru, as part of the negotiations process, the news provider explained, adding that Cementos Interoceanicos is currently developing its manufacturing plant in the region. Cementos Interoceanicos also holds mining rights to 54km2 of land in the Puno region, smaller areas in Arequipa and other areas.
Bamburi subsidiary gets US$5m loan for operations 08 January 2015
Kenya: Seruji Limited, a distribution subsidiary of Bamburi Cement, has borrowed US$5m from TriLinc Global to finance its activities at a time when competition in the industry has reached new heights.
"TriLinc funded a US$5m trade finance transaction at a fixed interest rate of 14.75% to a Kenyan cement distributor engaged in the production and distribution of cement," said TriLinc. "The transaction, set to mature on 17 March 2015, is supported by inventory, receivables and other liquid assets." TriLinc added that Seruji met one of its investment criteria of being a small or medium enterprise (SME) in its growth stage.
"Founded in 2008, the borrower is a growing Kenyan cement distributor that utilises cutting-edge energy-efficient and eco-friendly cement grinding technology to improve sustainability," said TriLinc, which has also invested in Zambian, Namibian and South African SMEs. Kenyan companies are increasingly using foreign-based lenders with the capacity to lend larger amounts and at a lower cost than local financiers.
Poland’s cement sales to grow to 16Mt in 2015 08 January 2015
Poland: According to the Polish Association of Cement Producers (SPC), cement sales might exceed 16Mt in 2015, while in 2017 - 2018 they might return to the record-breaking level of 19Mt. Official sales figures for 2014 have not been revealed yet, but recent estimates show that some 15 - 15.2Mt of cement were sold in 2014, which would represent a 6% increase when compared to the 14.3Mt sold in 2013.
Coal strike may impact industrial growth across India 08 January 2015
India: A strike by coal workers' unions would impact industrial growth across the country, industry chambers said. It asked the trade unions to resolve their grievances in an amicable manner.
"The strike would impact industrial growth across India, especially in power-deficient northern and southern regions, resulting in long unplanned outages," said Assocham secretary general D S Rawat. "The strike would impact all industries based on coal, including the cement industries that are already reeling under the pressure of raw material prices."
Over 75% of India's daily coal output has been hit as the five-day strike by workers of State-run miners entered the second day on 7 January 2015, raising fears of disruption in power supplies. The industrial action is in protest of 'disinvestment and restructuring of state-run Coal India' and to press for demands, including the roll-back of what unions call 'process of denationalising of coal sector.'
Appealing to all trade unions to call off the strike, Process Harmony Development (PHD) chamber president Alok Shriram said that they should negotiate with the government to resolve their concerns and grievances in an amicable manner. The government has begun an exercise to reform India with progressive and modest policies to put it on the path of accelerated growth. Any sort of strike to oppose and obstruct the evolving policies would harm the country's economic interest, according to Shriram.
"The path of strike serves neither workers nor the policy makers. Therefore, the working class of Coal India ought to seek redressal of their grievances through negotiations," said Shriram.
Update: According to Reuters, the strike has been called off on the second day (7 January 2015) after the government agreed to re-examine the decision.
Power minister Piyush Goyal agreed to form a committee to look into any issues with a recently-passed executive order that would allow auctions of coal mines to private companies for their own use, as well as allowing commercial mining in the future.
"We have withdrawn the strike," said Jibon Roy, a senior union leader. "The minister agreed to form a committee. They will see what are the problems in the ordinance (executive order). Normal discussions on other demands will continue."
Ibeto and Nigercem ownership dispute continues 07 January 2015
Nigeria: The Ebonyi State Government in Nigeria has warned Ibeto Cement Company over an alleged illegal entry into the premises of Nigercem cement premises located at Nkalagu. The entry was perceived as an act of provocation by governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, as Nigercem is still subject of an ownership dispute in the courts.
"Following dispute between the State government and Ibeto Group on the ownership of Nigercem, Ebonyi State Government exercised its illegal right of land ownership by revoking the certificate of all the land upon which Nigercem is situated," said Elechi. "By going into the premises of Nigercem without the permission of the State Government, the Ibeto Group has demonstrated an alarming desire to acquire the God-given mineral wealth of Ebonyi people for its interest".
Eastern Bulkcem Nigeria Limited owns a 65% stake in Nigercem. The origins of the current dispute arise from Eastern Bulkcem's failure to modernise the ageing plant, instead opting to use its ownership of the plant to obtain import licences for bulk cement. The Ebonyi State Government resorted to extra-judicial means to shut it down, revoking Nigercem's certificate of occupancy pending a Judicial Commission to investigate the state of affairs in the company.
Vietnam: The World Bank is expected to provide US$200m in loans for Vietnamese cement plants to invest in waste heat recovery (WHR) systems according to the Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA). The VNCA said the financing pledge is part of the bank's programme to finance efficient energy consumption for the local cement industry.
At present only Holcim and Ha Tien 2 in southern Vietnam, and Chinfon and Cong Thanh in northern Vietnam have invested in WHR systems. In April 2014 the VNCA admitted that there had been a delay to build WHR systems in all cement plants with a clinker production capacity of 2500t/day by 2015.
Four killed in scaffold collapse at Sinai Cement plant 07 January 2015
Egypt: Four workers were killed and at least 35 others were injured on 27 December 2014 when a scaffold collapsed in the Sinai Cement plant in central Sinai. Sinai Cement denied that it had a connection with the accident in a statement.
Greek Supreme Court orders Heracles General Cement to pay village Euro78,000 for pollution 07 January 2015
Greece: The Supreme Court of Greece has ordered the Heracles' General Cement Company, a subsidiary of Lafarge, to pay the residents of Agia Marina, Halkida Euro78,000 as compensation for pollution from its cement plant.
The court upheld the settlement's arguments that the cement plant had failed
to adhere to the environmental terms in its operating licence in order to avoid the relevant costs and refused to take measures for the proper maintenance and modernisation of its facilities. They said this resulted in all outdoor areas in the village being covered in a layer of cement dust up to 1.2cm thick, including the nearby coastline.
The village residents had originally sued for a total of Euro1.14m but the court awarded the residents a much lower sum, even though it found that the company's omissions fully justified their claim to moral damages resulting from their deprivation of environmental benefits and the threat to their health from exposure to environmental pollution.
Belarus government to repay cement companies’ debts to China 07 January 2015
Belarus: The Belarusian government will acquire additional stakes in three cement companies in exchange for helping them to repay loans to China's Eximbank. The Council of Ministers has issued a directive that provides for restructuring the overdue debts incurred by Belarusian Cement Plant, Krychawtsementnashyfer and Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly as of 1 October 2014.
The three cement producers will receive the bailout on condition that they meet their profitability of sales targets for 2015 and fulfil their obligations to Eximbank starting 2015. Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly, Belarusian Cement Plant and Krychawtsementnashyfer owe US$34.4m, US$43.7m and US$50.6m to the Chinese bank, respectively, in overdue loan payments.
Hope announces Euro17.8m expansion upgrades at cement plant 07 January 2015
UK: Hope Construction Materials is investing Euro17.8m to boost production at its Hope Works cement plant. The upgrades include a completed 20,000t clinker store, a system to increase the plant's capacity to use waste-derived fuels and an internal upgrade of the plant's chimney, improvements to the way the raw materials are fed into the twin kilns and maintenance and refurbishment of a large section of one of the kilns.
"The installation of the new kiln shell section is a spectacular piece of engineering involving several teams and very careful planning. We are delighted with the way that this individual project has evolved and look forward to seeing the others progress to schedule... We are very excited to be involved in the largest investment programme on site for many years," said Hope Works Operations Manager Ed Cavanagh.
The announcement comes on Hope Construction Materials' second birthday. Hope has owned and operated the 85 year old cement plant since January 2013.