Displaying items by tag: Investment

Zimbabwe: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe has announced a planned investment of US$15.0m in a dry mortar production line to diversify its product base. All Africa has reported that construction will begin in January 2020.

The company stated that it will conclude registration of a US$28.5m loan from the reserve bank of Zimbabwe before the end of 2019.

Togo: Nigerian-based Dangote Cement has received government clearance for construction of a 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant in Togo, its first in the country, at a cost of US$60m. When operational, it will bring Togo’s installed capacity to 5.7Mt/yr – 1.7Mt of it grinding only – and grind clinker from Nigeria and Togo. Agence Ecofin has reported that the sum is part of a raft of investments by Dangote Group in the country totalling US$3.47m and involving infrastructure and phosphate fertiliser production projects.

Nigeria: Abia Cement, Russian-based Drobmash and Energomotor and Czech-based PSP Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding for construction of a 2.0Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Abia province at the first Russia-Africa Summit on 2 November 2019. The latter companies will supply equipment to the development, while Abia cement will receive an export loan from Russia’s Roseximbank.

Russia: Swiss-based LafargeHolcim has signed a cooperation agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for the purposes of supporting market growth and attaining to international quality, sustainability and energy efficiency standards. Contify Investment News has reported that LafargeHolcim, whose total integrated capacity of 9.4Mt in Russia is spread across four plants, will receive equity co-investments for projects from the Russian sovereign wealth fund. Maxim Goncharov, CEO of LafargeHolcim Russia, said that the partnership facitates the company’s global expertise "in solving target issues related to the industry’s and society’s development,” such as the co-processing of waste as a substitute fuel.

India: Dalmia Bharat Cement will invest US$492m in projects to expand its cement production capacity by 8Mt/yr to 34Mt/yr from 26Mt/yr. The sum includes a consolidated investment of US$422m in brownfield developments in Eastern India to increase integrated capacity at its Rajgangpur plant in Odisha by 3.0Mt/yr, and at its Kasba plant in West Bengal by 2.7Mt/yr, to 6.6Mt/yr and 4.0Mt/yr respectively. The expansion is scheduled for completion by March 2020.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has revealed a Euro145m investment plan to reduce its CO2 emissions in Europe by 3Mt/yr, equivalent to 15% of its carbon footprint, by 2022. The investment will target advanced equipment and technology to increase the use of low-carbon fuels and materials.

Philippines: Premiere Slag has received an investment of US$1.95m from the Philippines’ AbaCore Capital Holdings for the construction of a cement facility in Mabina, Luzon.

Egypt: Sinai Cement has started implementing its plans to improve its production efficiency. Vicat Egypt, one of the owners of the company, plans to invest Euro30m into its subsidiary. It has already granted Sinai Cement a loan of Euro10.6m and the cement company received a first tranche of Euro2.6m in April 2019.

Zimbabwe: LafargeHolcim has allocated US$25m to LafargeHolcim Zimbabwe to raise its production capacity utilisation. The investment was announced following a meeting between President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and Miljan Gutovic, the Middle East and Africa area director for LafargeHolcim, according to the Standard newspaper. The investment will also be used to create additional production capacity for agricultural lime and automation of a dry mortar plant. This latest cash injection follows a US$30m loan from LafargeHolcim.

Mexico: Cemex Ventures has invested in Linkx, a company that offers software to optimise goods delivery. The company’s software solution allows control of deliveries and vehicles in real time, allowing for data-based decision-making and facilitating communication and information among all involved parties: shipper, carrier, and receiver.

“This investment is a clear example of our offer. Linkx came to us at a very early stage, and together, we worked on continuous improvements by reinforcing their minimum viable product and offering continuous feedback on our knowledge of industry and technology. After numerous optimisations, we have piloted this solution with several Cemex clients to achieve a very robust solution for the supply chain management challenge," said Gonzalo Galindo, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex Ventures.

Cemex Ventures is the corporate venture capital wing of Cemex that was launched in 2017. It invests in startups with potential in the construction industry and works with entrepreneurs, universities and other stakeholders.