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Just before the end of 2012 Holcim sold shares in companies it owned in Thailand and Guatemala. It reduced its stake in Siam City Cement Company (SCCC) in Thailand from 36.8% to 27.5% and it sold its entire 20% minority stake in Cementos Progreso in Guatemala. For the sale of these two share packages Holcim received approximately Euro310m.

This is interesting given that Asia-Pacific was the Switzerland-based multinational's biggest sales area in 2011 and because sales of cement rose by 6% in Latin America in 2011. Similarly in 2012 from January to September the two regions propped up the group's profits. Why would Holcim sell stakes into two of its most profitable regions?

In its third quarter report in 2012 Holcim repeatedly described Thailand as 'encouraging' following floods in 2011. It added that it had focused increasingly on the cement market in the country and strengthened its position in neighbouring countries that resulted in lower clinker exports.

According to the Global Cement Directory 2013 SCCC has a capacity of 31Mt/yr, 65% of Thailand's total capacity of 48Mt/yr. SCCC predicted in December 2012 that domestic cement demand would increase by 5-10% in 2013. The company is currently planning to build new plants in Indonesia and Cambodia and is considering investing in Myanmar. In Indoniesia Holcim is the third biggest producer after Semen Gresik and HeidelbergCement subsidiary Indocement.

Meanwhile in Central America, Cementos Progreso was the sole producer in Guatemala with 2.5Mt/yr from two plants. This was set to double with the commissioning of a third plant towards the end of 2012. However, Holcim retains seven plants in southern Mexico (12Mt/yr), both of El Salvador's plants (2Mt/yr) and a plant in Costa Rica (1Mt/yr).

With Holcim's strong presence in Central America and the North American market reviving leaving Guatemala makes sense with the group's debt reduction programme in mind. The situation in Thailand is more complex, so unsurprisingly Holcim has reduced its stake rather than leaving completely. SCCC's expansion plans outside of Thailand suggest, that although growing, the market is maturing. In one such potential expansion target, Indonesia, Holcim is already a major producer.

In its press release announcing the sales in Thailand and Guatemala, Holcim attributed the decision to its ongoing debt reduction programme. As part of its 'Leadership Journey' the group intends to save Euro1.25bn by the end of 2014. Other savings in 2012 included reducing management in Europe, layoffs and closures in Australia, a plant closure in Hungary, further delays on the decision to build a new plant in New Zealand and layoffs in Spain. The management changes in Europe alone contributed a Euro99m chunk of Holcim's target saving of Euro124m for 2012.

Yet it's worth considering that a week after the sales of its shares Holcim's subsidiary in India, Ambuja Cements, announced investments of Euro277m in India. Perhaps the best way to save money is to make more money.

Portugal: Portuguese cement producer Cimpor has appointed Luiz Roberto Ortiz Nascimento and André Pires Oliveira Dias as members of the board of directors. The move follows the resignations of Erik Madsen and Walter Schalka.

Ortiz Nascimento, aged 62 from Brazil, holds a degree in economics from Mackenzie University in São Paulo. He became the chief executive officer of construction and trade at Camargo Corrêa, the owner of Cimpor, in 1992.

Oliveira Dias, aged 31 and also from Brazil, holds a degree in Business Administration and International Business from the American Intercontinental University in London. He has worked for Camargo Corrêa since joining its trainee program in 2005. Most recently he was the strategy and planning department manager since 2009.

Lithuania: Concretus Materials is planning to buy up to 51% of shares in the cement manufacturer Akmene Cement. According to the regulator Concretus Materials applied to the Lithuanian Competition Council on 27 December 2012 for approval of the deal.

The Mexican cement giant Cemex owns a 33.95% stake in Akmenes Cementas. Other shareholders included Simonas Vytis Anuzis with 13.67%, Olius Danyla with 13.55%, Arnoldas Mituzas with 12.76% and Edmundas Montvila with 9.8%.

Akmenes Cementas is currently implementing a modernisation project, worth Euro101m, moving to a dry production process. The company expects to complete its new production line in mid-2013. The producer's annual revenue rose year-on-year by 37% in 2011 to Euro63.1m as cement sales increased by 19% to nearly 984,000t/yr. in 2011 Lithuania remained its biggest market, accounting for 55% of the total sales. Akmenes Cementas's cement plant is located in Naujoji Akmene, in north-western Lithuania.

Nigeria: Two major Nigerian cement producers, Dangote and Lafarge WAPCO, have ended the 2012 calendar year with 1.47Mt of unsold cement and clinker. Figures obtained from the two manufacturers show that Dangote had unsold stock of 950,000t while Lafarge had 520,000t.

"At Lafarge, the situation is so bad. We have 300,000t of unsold cement and 220,000t of clinker in our silos across our three plants (Sagamu, Ewekoro I and Ewekoro II). Before these pileups, we used to load 10 trucks per day but now that there are no sales and loaded trucks have nowhere to go. As a result we are losing 800t/day," said Lanre Opakunle, plant manager at Lafarge Ewekoro II.

Commenting on why the price of cement remained high in Nigeria despite the glut, Opakunle said that manufacturers are coping with rising energy inputs and high haulage costs. Fuel costs account for 31% of production cost in Nigeria compared to less than 10% in China.

In early December 2012 Dangote Cement announced that it was going to shut its 4Mt/yr Dangote Cement plant in Gboko, Benue State due to a glut of cement in the market.

China: The chairman of West China Cement, Zhang Jimin, has said that West China's production capacity reached 23Mt/yr in 2012. Zhang added that the group plans to invest US$321m through mergers and acquisitions to increase production capacity to 30Mt/yr by 2015.

Hebei Province-based cement producer, Tangshan Jidong Cement has said that the company plans to set up a joint-venture (JV) with two cement firms in Mizhi County, Shaanxi-province. The JV will build a 2000t/day cement-clinker production line to expand the local cement market. Jidong Cement will pay US$15.7m for a 61% stake in the JV, which will have a registered capital of US$25.7m.

China Resources Cement Holdings, the largest cement producer in South China, said that its investment subsidiary will set up a JV with a local cement company in An'shun City, Guizhou province. The JV will have a registered capital of US$45m. China Resources Cement will invest US$28.1m in cash to hold a 62.5% stake in the JV while in the first phase, the An'shun company will take a 37.5% stake by providing properties and other assets worth US$17m. After completion, China Resources Cement will spend US$7.86m buying a 17.5% stake in the JV from the An'shun company, increasing its stake in the JV to 80%.

India: Ambuja Cements has announced investments of US$365m in India, of which US$100m is targeted for Bengal. The Indian cement producer intends to try to maintain its market share at 10% until 2018.

The subsidiary of Holcim announced it would invest US$59.2m at a grinding unit in Sankrail to expand its capacity to 2.4Mt/yr from 1.5Mt/yr by 2015. It has also proposed to invest US$41m in another grinding unit in the state at Bandel, according to Bengal industries minister Partha Chatterjee.

"This plant (Sankrail) is working at a capacity of 1.5Mt/yr and we will go up to 2.4Mt/yr. We also have a unit in Farakka with a 1.25Mt/yr capacity. So, with this, we will be one of the largest cement players in Bengal," said Ajay Kapur, CEO of Ambuja Cements.

Ambua Cements also announced that it is yet to gain clearance for the construction of a 3Mt/yr greenfield integrated cement plant in Rajasthan. Ambuja Cements holds a total capacity of 27.25Mt/yr in Rajasthan. A 1.5Mt/yr grinding unit at Sanand, Gujarat, is also being considered.

Nigeria: Ibeto Group, the owners of Ibeto Cement Company Limited, has stated that the cement the company imports into Nigeria is not responsible for any market surplus. In a statement issued by Ibeto Cement the company proposed that the first sign of a glut in the market of a product is a 'drastic' reduction in price. There has been no drop in the price of cement in Nigeria.

The group, in a statement signed by its executive director of Strategy and Public Affairs, Dr Ben Aghazu, argued that since it imports 1.5Mt/yr or less than 5% of the annual cement supply to the Nigerian market it cannot be held responsible for any surplus on the market. Ibeto Cement became the sole importer of cement into the country following an out of court settlement following the closure of its bagging plant in Bundu Ama in 2005. Ibteo Cement was subsequently allowed to import 1.5Mt/yr bulk cement from October 2007 until September 2017.

Aghazu further accused Dangote Group of trying to influence the Federal Government to 'invalidate' Ibteo's import quota by raising the taxes on imported cement or by banning clinker imports outright.

"Unfortunately, in our country the antitrust laws probably don't exist or aren't enforced when it pertains to the Dangote Group, which holds a monopolistic stranglehold on several significant and strategic sectors of the economy," said Aghazu.

Zambia: Cement production has stopped at Zambezi Portland Cement in Ndola due to a dispute over the company's shareholder structure, according to The Times of Zambia newspaper.

A senior source at the cement producer said that management officials were locked out of the plant on 24 December 2012. He added that the halt in operations was due to ongoing issues regarding the ownership of Zambezi Portland Cement. Further checks by the newspaper revealed that the plant is surrounded by security personnel. Zambia Portland Cement has a production capacity of 1300t/day.

Iraq: International Finance Coporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a US$70m loan to help renovate a cement factory in Iraq.

The financing will allow Kerbala Cement Manufacturing (KCML), a subsidiary of Lafarge, to rehabilitate a state-owned plant near the city of Kerbala. KCML will undertake the work under a concession agreement with the government of Iraq. The financing is expected to aid Iraq's construction sector.

"This financing will help address the cement shortage that Iraq is facing and help the country meet supply gaps in its infrastructure," said Guy Ellena, IFC Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services in Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

KCML is a joint venture between Lafarge and MerchantBridge, a London-based private equity group. The financing is being supplemented by a US$20m loan from Proparco, a development financial institution funded by the French Development Agency and private shareholders.

Spain: Cementos Molins has sold 10.61% in its Argentina-based unit Cementos Avellaneda to Votorantim Europe for Euro45.2m. Following the deal Cementos Molins retains 51% in the company and Votorantim Europe, part of Brazilian group Votorantim, is holds 49%. The Spanish firm also transferred a 12.61% stake in its Uruguayan-based unit Cementos Artigas to Votorantim Europe for Euro19m, keeping 49% in the subsidiary and its partner raised its stake to 51%.