September 2024
Belarusian Cement Plant and Krychawtsementnashyfer to hand over government-owned stakes to Belarusian Cement Company 15 July 2014
Belarus: The Council of Ministers has ordered Belarusian Cement Plant and Krychawtsementnashyfer to hand over the government-owned stakes to Belarusian Cement Company. The move comes as part of a merger of all of Belarus' cement plans to create a new holding company, Belasrusian Cement Company.
Belarusian Cement Company is to receive 7,723,192 shares from Belarusian Cement Plant and 196,697,461 shares from Krychawtsementnashyfer. Belarusian Cement Company was initially expected to control Belarusian Cement Plant, Krychawtsementnashyfer and AAT Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly. However, it is still unclear whether Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly will join the holding company.
Belarus' president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, approved the merger, which was proposed by Pyotr Rudnik, head of the Mahilyow Regional Executive Committee. Uladzimir Kisyalyow was appointed as director general of Belarusian Cement Company. Prior to the appointment, Kisyalyow served as first deputy head of the Mahilyow Regional Executive Committee.
OCL’s Bengal Cement Works goes on stream 15 July 2014
India: OCL India, an associate company of Dalmia Cement Bharat Ltd, has invested US$102m in the Bengal Cement Works plant in Paschim Medinipur Distict, West Bengal State.
Puneet Dalmia, director of OCL India, said that US$83.1m had already been spent on the project. According to Dalmia, construction of the 2Mt/yr capacity plant began in 2012 and had recently been completed. This was OCL's largest project outside Odisha State.
"This plant marks the initiation of the company's investment cycle in West Bengal,'' said Dalmia. OCL already has two cement plants at Cuttack and Rajgangpur in Odisha. The Bengal Cements Works will be the anchor investor at the Godapiasal Industrial Park.
Spain: The European Commission (EC) has objected to Cemex's plan to acquire Holcim's Spanish units, according to Reuters.
Cemex and Holcim unveiled the deal in August 2013, part of which included Holcim taking over Cemex's German businesses. The EC cleared this deal unconditionally earlier in July 2014. However, the Spanish part of the deal triggered an in-depth probe by the EC in April 2014. The preliminary review showed that the takeover would substantially curb competition in the grey cement market in certain parts of Spain.
"The EC has sent a statement of objections to the companies," said an EC spokesperson.
"We cannot comment and the process is following its normal course," said Cemex. "Proper disclosure will be made when we have to make it." Cemex had offered some concessions during the EC's preliminary review, but these were not considered to be sufficient. The EC has set a 5 September 2014 deadline for its decision.
Canada: Pond Biofuels has set up a bioreactor pilot plant at St Marys cement plant in St Marys, Ontario. The raw smokestack gas from the cement plant is recycled to grow algae in a third-generation 25,000L bioreactor at the on-site pilot plant. The resulting algae can be used for bio-oil, food, fertiliser and sewage treatment.
The algae consume CO2, NOX and SOX from the smokestack gas. Every 1kg of algae produced prevents 2kg of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere. The St Marys Cement Plant produces 720,000t/yr of cement and 540,000t/yr of CO2. Currently, Pond Biofuels only uses a small portion of the total CO2 output.
"We consider ourselves a carbon recycling technology," said Steve Martin, founder of Pond Biofuels.
The algae thrive in light filled, CO2-rich conditions, which are provided in the bioreactor. The light comes from custom-designed red LED lights that flash continuously. The rapid flashing fools the algae into thinking the days are very short, so it grows very fast. "The algae evolve quite quickly; we can get four, five, six generations of algae in a day," said Martin.
Proving the production of algae at commercial scale is important, but the other important part is finding a market for the algae. "Between 10 – 20% of it is oil that be used for producing biodiesel," said Martin. It could also be used a coal replacement, a soil amendment or even animal feed and it can be easily dried using waste heat from the cement plant.
Oman: Carmeuse, a specialist company in the production of lime and lime-related products, said that it is on course to bring part of its lime-calcining plant in Oman's Dhofar Governorate into operation during the second half of 2014.
Carmeuse Majan LLC, a joint venture company led by Belgium-based Carmeuse Holding SA, is setting up the project in the Salalah Free Zone with an investment of around US$180m. A total of eight kilns, each with a lime capacity of 125,000t/yr, are envisioned as part of the project. Development of the plant is planned in phases, with initial production planned for the second half of 2014.
The plant's output is primarily targeted at India, where demand for lime products is rising sharply. The Gulf region is also seen as a promising market for Carmeuse's products. Dhofar's relative proximity to the Indian subcontinent and Middle Eastern markets, coupled with the presence of a deepwater port in Salalah, are key factors underlying Carmeuse's decision to invest in the Sultanate.
The lime-calcining venture is expected to contribute to a further spurt in general cargo volumes handled by the Port of Salalah. Mineral exports have continued to fuel the growth of general cargo volumes, which soared to a record 7.94Mt at the end of 2013, up by 9.5% from the previous year's volume of 7.25Mt. Exports of limestone and gypsum accounted for much of this growth, although significant volumes of cement, fuel and methanol were also handled. A new General Cargo Terminal is under construction at the logistics hub to cater to the steady growth in mineral products and other bulk commodities.
President approves cement plant merger 11 July 2014
Belarus: The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has approved the merger of the country's cement plants into a holding company under the name Belarusian Cement Plant. It will include Krasnoselskstroymaterialy, Krichevtsementnoshifer and Belarusian Cement Plant. The holding company will mainly focus on export growth, as Belarus' cement output capacity is currently more than double the domestic demand. Belarusian cement plants manufactured 5.05Mt of cement in 2013, up by 3.1% year-on-year. Belarus exported 1.37Mt of cement in 2013, up by 36.5% year-on-year.
Holcim assumes control of Bamburi Cement 11 July 2014
Kenya: Holcim is set to acquire effective control of Kenya's Bamburi Cement Company Ltd as part of the planned merger between Holcim and Lafarge. Lafarge is Bamburi's parent company. Bamburi said that the proposed combination would not effect any changes to the ownership of Bamburi and that the local outfit would remain listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
"The parties do not wish to see any change to the status of Bamburi as one of Kenya's leading industrial companies listed on the NSE," said Holcim. Holcim added that maintenance of the listing on the NSE and the wide-scale investment from the Kenyan public in Bamburi's shares is a key ingredient to the success of Bamburi.
Lafarge owns 58.6% of Bamburi's total issued share capital through two subsidiaries: Fincem Holding Ltd (29.3%) and Kencem Ltd (29.3%). Kenyan institutions and individuals own an estimated 32.17% of Bamburi shares. Currently Holcim does not own any shares directly or indirectly.
Brazil: The leaders of the rapidly growing BRIC economy countries, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China and now South Africa, will launch their own development bank at a summit in Brazil in 14-18 July 2014. The BRIC nations are also working on proposals to set up a 'mini International Monetary Fund (IMF),' according to the Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov.
The plan for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to set up a bank to finance infrastructure projects began in 2012 and the group agreed on the project's outline in 2013 after seeing investors divert money from emerging economies, hurting their currencies. Disagreements over funding, management and where to locate the headquarters of the new entity held up progress, but Siluanov said that the leaders themselves would decide whether it should be based in Shanghai or Delhi when they meet in Fortaleza, Brazil in 14-18 July 2014.
The New Development Bank will be able to start lending in 2016. It will focus chiefly on infrastructure projects and will be available to other members of the United Nations. The five nations will put up an initial US$2bn each in financing with a further US$40bn in guarantees. The financing will eventually build up to US$100bn. Siluanov added that the five leaders would also sign a blueprint agreement on the group's other signature project, a US$100bn fund to steady the currency markets.
"We have reached an agreement that, in the current conditions of capital volatility, it is important for our countries to have this buffer in addition to the IMF," said Siluanov. The mini IMF would act as an emergency fund for members facing currency devaluation or which were hit by sudden currency flight. China will contribute US$41bn, while Brazil, India and Russia will each give US$18bn and South Africa US$5bn.
Barbados: Some 18 major shareholders of Trinidad Cement Limited's (TCL) Arawak cement plant are manoeuvring to force out the current board of directors and install its own directors.
The shareholders pushing to get rid of the board include Republic Bank Limited, the Trinidad National Insurance Board, Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust and a Barbados' Bourne Investment Inc. Holding 54.7% of the shares of TCL, the aggrieved shareholders are not happy with the way TCL has been managed in recent years.
The Caribbean's only cement producer has faced deep financial problems, despite the favourable competitive position it holds in most Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) countries. In Barbados the Arawak cement plant is the sole cement provider. TCL also operates Caribbean Cement Ltd in Jamaica, while its biggest operation is in Trinidad and Tobago.
The board members that the upset shareholders want removed include TCL's CEO Rollin Bertrand, who once ran the Arawak Plant, Leonard Nurse, Andy Bhajan, Bevon Francis and Brian Young. In addition to seeking a compulsory meeting of the shareholders of TCL to remove the board forthwith, the group provided their own list of directors to immediately take control of TCL until the close of the first annual meeting following their election.
Canada: Ottawa's Competition Bureau has announced that it will look into the US$40bn merger between Lafarge and Holcim, both of which have extensive operations in Canada. Competition Bureau spokeswoman Mélanie Beauchesne reportedly confirmed the news.
In Canada the regulations require that the Competition Bureau must be given advanced notice of a merger if the Canadian assets generate more than US$82m in revenues and when the assets exceed US$400m. In a joint statement earlier in July 2014 Lafarge and Holcim announced plans to sell all of Holcim's assets in Canada to address potential competition regulations in order to merge their businesses.
Lafarge has operations in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Western Canada, while Holcim has plants mostly in Quebec and Ontario. Together, Holcim and Lafarge employ some 9000 people in Canada. The divestment of Holcim's Canadian assets will likely have no effect on industry operations, at least in the short term, according to Regan Watts, Lafarge Canada's spokesman.
"It's impossible to say what will happen exactly," said Colacem Canada's CFO, François Gervais. "We simply don't know what's going to happen. There are too many imponderables. But it's business as usual for us." Regarding Holcim's cement plant in Joliette, Quebec, he added, "Would the plant close? That would be very surprising. Will somebody buy it? Most likely. What will be the impact on the market? Well, who can say? I'm not clairvoyant."