Displaying items by tag: GCW143
CRH may sell controversial Israeli company
24 March 2014Israel: CRH may end its involvement with a hugely controversial Israeli company whose cement has been used to manufacture barriers for a widely condemned security wall that separates Israel from the Palestinian West Bank.
CRH owns a 25% stake in Israel's only cement producer, Mashav and for years has drawn fire from shareholders and international pressure groups for retaining its holding in the company, which it bought in 2001. Mashav is the holding company for a firm called Nesher Cement, the cement of which has been used to construct the wall dividing the West Bank from Israel. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign is among the groups that has put pressure on CRH to divest its stake in Mashav and has previously staged protests at CRH annual general meetings.
CRH has previously pointed out that, while it owns a 25% stake in Mashav, the group isn't directly involved in the production of concrete products in Israel. The company has also insisted that Mashav can't discriminate against who it sells concrete to and that the Israeli firm's concrete has also been sold to the Palestinian Authority.
But the new chief executive of CRH, Albert Manifold, has been spearheading a sweeping review of CRH's businesses that could see a number of them, including its stake in Mashav, being put up for sale. In February 2014 Manifold said that CRH has so far identified 45 businesses that will be put on the block. CRH finance director Maeve Carton said that the units have been singled out for not meeting 'Those criteria we have of being able to deliver improved margins and growth into the future.'
In a detailed annual report, CRH said that 34 of the 45 businesses that it's planning to sell are in Europe and another 11 in the US. CRH also said that it wrote off a total of Euro105m from the value of a 50% stake in Turkey's Denizli Cement and its 25% stake in Mashav. That has fuelled speculation that CRH may also seek to offload its holding in Mashav. A spokesman for the company declined to comment. CRH has not identified any specific businesses that it plans to sell as part of its review.
Cemex to invest US$600m in wind energy in Nuevo Leon
24 March 2014Mexico: Cemex plans to develop a wind power project in Nuevo Leon state, Mexico with an investment of US$600m, according to chairman and CEO Lorenzo Zambrano. The project will consist of two wind farms that cost US$300m each, which could be installed within two years.
Cemex will use at least 10% of the power output and has identified potential customers that could purchase the remainder. The complex, dubbed Las Ventikas, is expected to generate energy savings of US$15m/yr for the company. Cemex could also install wind farms for its operations abroad, for example in the Philippines, where it is seeking a government permit for a project of this type.
Indonesia: Semen Gresik, a subsidiary of Semen Indonesia, will receive a non-cash loan facility worth US$123m from the lender to build a new 3Mt/yr cement plant in Rembang regency, Central Java.
Cement producer PT Semen Gresik, subsidiary of state-owned PT Semen Indonesia, has secured a letter of credit (L/C) facility to help finance the construction of its newest plant. Under the deal, Abdul Rachman, the state lender of Bank Mandiri, agreed to issue L/Cs for Semen Gresik for the next 42 months to support the purchase of machinery or equipment from overseas. The equipment will be used to construct Semen Gresik's new plant in Rembang, Central Java. The plant is worth US$325m and is expected to commence operations in 2016 with a cement production capacity of 3Mt/yr.
The plants will be operated by subsidiary PT Semen Padang and are currently able to produce up to 6.5Mt/yr of cement. "We are looking to increase the annual capacity by 3Mt/yr and the project will need around US$281m in investment," said Semen Indonesia finance director, Ahyanizzaman. "About half of the costs will be financed by our internal funds and the rest by a syndicated loan, led by Mandiri." Supported by the Rembang and Indarung plants, Semen Indonesia's total production capacity will surge to 40Mt/yr by 2017, from the 31.8Mt/yr that has been forecast for 2014.
Indocement predicts cement demand to grow in 2014
21 March 2014Indonesia: PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk has predicted that cement demand will increase in 2014. Indocement corporate secretary Sahat Panggabean pinned the prediction on increasing infrastructure and real estate projects in 2014.
In order to meet market demand Indocement is currently building a 4.4Mt/yr cement plant in Citeureup. The company is also in the process of seeking licenses for the two 2.5Mt/yr greenfield cement plants to be built in Central Java and a location outside of Java respectively.
In 2013 Indocement faced increased competition from new cement producers in the market and expanded cement production capacity established producers. Indocement also pointed out to Indonesian news agency Antara that some of the new producers were importing cement into the country from abroad.
US: Chemical distributor Univar has shipped 379,000M3 (100 million gallons) of fuel-quality waste from its waste chemical business, ChemCare, to Systech Environmental, a subsidiary of Lafarge. The two companies have been in partnership in waste management since 1989.
"We are committed to responsible waste management for our ChemCare customers, including the recycling of materials wherever possible. Our 25 year partnership with Systech has been an outstanding reflection of this, enabling the responsible disposal of waste while providing an alternative fuel source for cement kilns," said Greg Vas Nunes, vice president of ChemCare. Systech Environmental added that the arrangement had prevented the generation of 800,000t of CO2.
ChemCare provides waste management service that collects both hazardous and non-hazardous waste products at customer locations in the US and Canada. It then works with partners in the waste disposal business to transport these materials to licensed third-party treatment, storage and disposal facilities.
Systech Environmental processes hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste for use as fuel in cement kilns. It is actively processing or marketing fuels at 16 cement plants in the US.