Displaying items by tag: Finance

Peru: Unacem and Grupo Calidra have received clearance from the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) to launch a joint venture in the lime sector. Carretera News has reported that the new company will establish a 600t/day lime plant, at an investment cost of US$40m. The partners expect to commission the plant in early-mid 2025. Unacem, which holds a 51% stake in the venture, has reported that it and Grupo Calidra will fund the growth from a combination of their own finances and bank loans.

Nigeria: BUA Cement plans to use loans worth US$500m towards the construction of two new 3Mt/yr cement plants in Sokoto State. When operational, the new plants will increase the producer's installed capacity by 55% to 17Mt/yr. Local press has reported that BUA Cement plans to run both cement plants using solar power, and to produce cement using alternative fuel (AF). Additionally, the producer will use a portion of the funding to replace part of its diesel-fuelled cement truck fleet with new natural gas-fuelled models.

Of a total US$500m in financing secured by BUA Cement on 5 June 2023, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) lent US$161m (32%) and African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation and the German Investment Corporation jointly lent US$245m (49%), with the remainder advanced by institutional investors.

India: JSW Cement has signed a US$50m sustainability-linked loan agreement with BNP Paribas Singapore. The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that the producer plans to use the funds for capital expenditure projects aimed to more than double its production capacity to 50Mt/yr from 17Mt/yr. Current plans include US$388m in investments in the construction of a 2.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Madhya Pradesh and a 2.5Mt/yr grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh.

The latest loan from BNP Paribas is the second of its kind taken by the group, following a US$48.5m sustainability-linked loan from Japan-based MUFG Bank in October 2022.

Ireland/US: Shareholders have approved Ireland-based CRH's board recommendation to transition to a US primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The company says that it will effect its transition on or around 25 September 2023. This will entail delisting shares from Ireland's Euronext Dublin, while retaining a standard listing on the UK's London Stock Exchange (LSE).

CRH derived 75% of earnings from North America in 2022. It expects the US market to be a key driver of future growth due to the country's growing populace and construction needs.

CEO Albert Manifold said "We are pleased to see such strong shareholder support for the listing transition, as it marks an important milestone in our development and will enable CRH to fully participate in the significant growth opportunities that lie ahead.”

India: Adani Group has taken a total US$2.33bn-worth of new loans over the two-and-a-half month period since the publication of a report into the group's activities by US-based shortseller Hindenburg Research on 24 January 2023. The report concluded with a finding of 'numerous issues of suspected fraud' by Adani Group. Adani Group explained at the time that all findings were 'stale, baseless and discredited.' The Times of India newspaper has reported that the group's net debt rose by 17% year-on-year to US$22.6bn on 8 June 2023. Adani Group's energy sector subsidiaries raised US$2.01bn-worth (86%) of the debt.

Adani Group completely paid off loans used in its US$6.4bn acquisition of Holcim India on 6 June 2023.

China: The board of directors of West China Cement has approved the appointment of Fan Zhan as a non-executive director. Fan is a senior accountant and deputy head of finance at Anhui Conch Cement. He was previously head of finance at Anhui Tongling Conch Cement. He holds a graduate degree from Tongling University.

Fan Zhan replaces Wang Jingqian on West China Cement’s board of directors, following the latter’s resignation.

Nigeria: BUA Cement has secures a new loan worth US$500m from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The producer informed the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) that it plans to use the fund for capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments in new projects.

Bangladesh: Premier Cement Mills plans to install a new vertical roller mill at its West Mukterpur cement plant in Munshiganj. For this purpose, it secured a US$32.7m long-term loan from state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL). The New Nation newspaper has reported that IDCOL focuses on financing projects to increase energy efficiency, alongside the development of renewable energy.

Kenya: A court has authorised an auction of East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC)'s moveable property to proceed, in order to pay former staff. The Nation newspaper has reported that EAPCC owes the employees US$10m in unpaid wages. The court allowed the auction in favour of 60 claimants. It instructed a further 150 claimants to seek redress by other means, due to insufficient available proceeds from the sale.

Bolivia: Itacamba Cemento declared a general assembly of bondholders on 22 May 2023 void after bondholders failed to attend in sufficient numbers for the meeting to proceed. The company said that there was insufficient quorum in accordance with the provisions of its bond issuance programme, and that the way forward would be to call a new assembly.

This story was amended on 26 May 2023, after a previous version erroneously stated that the bond issuance had been declared void - whereas it was the inquorate meetings that were declared void. Global Cement apologises for this error.