Displaying items by tag: India
LafargeHolcim increases stake in Ambuja Cement and ACC
16 November 2016India: LafargeHolcim has increased its shareholding in Ambuja Cement and ACC via its subsidiary Holderind Investments. It now owns 63% of Ambuja Cement’s shares and 4.5% of ACC’s shares. The group will pay for the additional stakes in Indian Rupees. The impact on LafargeHolcim’s net debt will be Euro302m. It described India as one of LafargeHolcim’s key markets with solid long-term fundamentals and a clear potential for further improvement in business performance.
Bharat Heavy Electricals wins orders in Togo and Benin
15 November 2016Togo/Benin: Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHE) has been awarded an order by Norway’s Scancem International, part of Heidelberg Cement group, to supply motors for Ciments Du Togo and Cimbenin. The motors will be manufactured and supplied by BHE's Bhopal plant.
Dalmia Cement commits to 100% renewable power
14 November 2016India: Dalmia Cement has committed to 100% renewable power and joined RE100, an initiate between the Climate Group and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). The new additions to RE100 take the total number of members to 83, and the total demand for renewable electricity being created to over 100TWhr.
“Being one of the greenest cement companies in the world, we are committed to decarbonising our operations in a way that makes business sense. We are scaling up our ambition to make a long term transition to 100% renewable power, achieving a fourfold increase in the percentage of renewable energy in our electricity consumption by 2030,” said Mahendra Singhi, Group CEO and Whole Time Director at Dalmia Cement (Bharat).
After adding 8MW solar photovoltaic capacity for its captive use, Dalmia Cement has set an interim target to increase its percentage of renewable energy consumption fourfold by 2030 compared to 2015, according to the Business Standard newspaper. Around 7% of the electricity used by Dalmia Cement, from the national grid and in-house generation, is based on renewable energy. Around 40% of the group’s locally generated power is based on renewables.
India: ACC has revealed that an appeal by cement producers to the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) against a fine imposed by the Competition Commission of India in August 2016 for alleged cartel activity has succeeded in negotiating the terms of the penalty. The COMPAT has ordered that the producers deposit 10% of the US$1bn fine in a similar manner to that of a fine levied in 2012. That fine was eventually dropped in 2014 with the CCI citing a lack of evidence.
Fines totalling US$1bn were levied on ACC, ACL, Binani, Century, India Cements, JK Cement, Lafarge, Ramco, UltraTech, Jaiprakash Associates and the Cement Manufacturers Association in late August 2016 for alleged cartelisation activity.
Sanghi Industries to raise US$180m for expansion
10 November 2016India: Sanghi Industries plans to raise US$180m towards increasing its production capacity. It has recently increased the production capacity at its Kutch cement plant by 1.2Mt/yr to 4.1Mt/yr, according to the Times of India. Following this the cement producer intends to increase its capacity to 8.1Mt/yr in the next three to four years. It plans to raise funds through a mix of internal accruals, debt and equity. The company is also building a 15MW waste heat recovery system that is likely to be commissioned by the end of 2018.
My Home Industries to build US$225m cement plant in Andhra Pradesh
08 November 2016India: My Home Industries plans to build a 1.5Mt/yr cement plant at a cost of US$225m in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. The plant is intended to take advantage of demand for cement generated by construction at the new state capital of Amaravati, according to comments by S Sambasiva Rao, executive director of My Home Industries, made to the Hans newspaper. Groundbreaking at the 1000 acre site is planned for late 2017 and the plant will take up to three years to build.
My Home Industries is a joint-venture between India’s My Home Group and Ireland’s CRH. It has production capacity of 8.4Mt/yr from plants in Nalgonda district in Telangana and Kurnool and Visakhapatnam districts in Andhra Pradesh. It is currently building a 1.2Mt/yr plant at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.
Dalmia Bharat and OCL India Plan to merge
07 November 2016India: Dalmia Bharat and OCL India have agreed to merge creating the fourth largest cement producer in the country with a production capacity of 25Mt/yr. Dalmia Bharat already owns a 75% share in OCL and the merger has been described as a move to ‘simplify the ownership’, according to Puneet Dalmia, managing director of Dalmia Bharat Group, in comments to the Economic Times.
“The merger will simplify the holding structure and create further consolidation in the cement sector,” said Dalmia. “This action further strengthens our position as one of the leading cement players in India, uniquely placed to support India’s economic growth, and demonstrates our commitment towards achieving simplification and consolidation.”
Ambuja Cement presents mixed results so far in 2016
04 November 2016India: Ambuja Cement’s sales volumes have risen slightly to 16.1Mt in the first nine months of 2016. Its net sales fell slightly to US$1.04bn and its net profit after tax rose by 41% year-on-year to US$147m. The cement producer said that sales volumes fell due to poor demand but profits have risen due to increased prices.
Cement plant jobs threatened in Kashmir unrest
01 November 2016India: The closure of eight cement plants in the Kashmir region due to on-going protests has put the jobs of 50,000 workers in jeopardy. A worker who has spoken to the Greater Kashmir newspaper has said that his factory has been closed since early July 2016 and he has not been paid in that period. Local cement producers are estimated to have lost US$45m as importers have benefitted.
Star Ferro sets up subsidiary in Myanmar
31 October 2016Myanmar: Star Ferro and Cement's subsidiary Star Cement has incorporated a subsidiary called 'Star Century Global Cement' in Myanmar. It said the new company has been created to provide ‘engineering, technical, financial, management and skilled and other services relating to prospecting and exploration of mines and minerals’ in the country. It also intends to offer technical consultancy services for exploration, mining, process, engineering and operating data.