Displaying items by tag: Kenya

Kenya: On 16 September 2025, the Kenyan government directed the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) to pursue a share buyback of a 29.2% stake owned by Switzerland’s Holcim, in what looks set to derail the sale of the shares to a Tanzanian tycoon.

The planned sale of the EAPCC shares to the Tanzanian investor Edhah Abdallah Munif had raised concerns in Parliament over the discounted cost of the deal, which had been set to take place at just half of the company’s stock price. Legislators have queried why shares in the asset-rich firm were being sold at a knock-down price.

Under the terms of the Tanzanian deal, Munif had been set to buy 26.32 million EAPCC shares from Holcim using an investment firm known as Kalahari Cement for a total of US$5.6m, which values the company at US$19.2m. Its share price on 17 September 2025 suggested a value of around US$38.5m.

To proceed with the share buyback, EAPCC must get approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). The maximum share buyback price is 10% more than the average price over a month, while the minimum is the prevailing price on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Kenya: Cement production rose by 17% year-on-year to 4.85Mt in the first half of 2025 from 4.14Mt in the same period of 2024, according to The Kenyan Wall Street newspaper. Monthly output surpassed 0.8Mt consistently from March to June 2025, the first four-month streak above that level since July to November 2023. May 2025 was the strongest month, with 0.85Mt produced.

Cement consumption grew by 22% to 4.76Mt in the first half of 2025 from 3.90Mt in 2024. Consumption peaked in May 2025 at 0.83Mt, the highest monthly level since August 2023, supported by housing, infrastructure and commercial construction demand.

Kenya: A group of four flour mill owners and associates has acquired Savannah Cement for US$29.4m, according to local press. The producer had been under administration for two years after it owed lenders KSB and Absa Bank debts of US$108m. The Competition Authority of Kenya approved the deal on 25 August 2025 without conditions, saying it posed no competition or public interest concerns.

Kenya: Kalahari Cement will spend US$5.57m to acquire a 29% stake in East African Portland Cement (EAPC) from Associated International Cement and Cementia Holding, making it one of the largest shareholders. Kalahari will purchase a combined total of 26.3 million shares from the two parties. The deal, priced at US$0.21/share, is subject to several regulatory approvals.

Kalahari is a Kenyan-incorporated investment vehicle, backed by Pacific Cement (90%) and Comercio Et Consiel (10%). It currently has no direct stake in EAPC but is affiliated with Bamburi Cement, which owns 12.5%. EAPC operates an integrated cement plant near Nairobi.

Kenya: Ndovu Cement, owned by Karsan Ramji & Sons, will build a 600t/day greenfield clinker plant and a limestone quarry in Mukawa, Kajiado County, according to regulatory filings. The project has already secured approval from the National Environment Management Authority. The company said the limestone quarry will ensure a reliable supply of 900t/day of limestone.

The facility is expected to reduce reliance on imports following a 17.5% levy on clinker imports introduced in July 2023, according to the Business Daily Africa newspaper. The measure was aimed at boosting local production and creating jobs, but has since led to a drop in cement consumption due to price increases and a fall in imports. Kenya-based cement producers had reportedly opposed an attempt to increase import duty on clinker, instead requesting a grace period of four years, until 2026, to allow them to build their own clinker production facilities.

Karsan began as a quarry operator in Kitengela, Kilifi and Nakuru, before beginning cement production in 2015 and launching Ndovu Cement in June 2015.

Kenya: A judge has upheld the appointment of Mohamed Osman Adan as the managing director of East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC). Employment and Labour Relations Court judge Byram Ongaya ruled that Adan was the only applicant to meet the 70% score threshold as prescribed in the company’s Human Resources and Procedures Manual.

“The court finds that the board’s recommendation that Mr Adan be appointed the managing director cannot be defeated upon the tests in Article 73(2) (a) on selection on the basis of personal integrity, competence, and suitability; and, Article 232 (g) on fair competition and merit as the basis of appointments and promotions,” said Ongaya.

Mr Adan’s appointment had been challenged by lawyer Apollo Mboya, who alleged that the board of directors had overturned Kenyan President William Ruto’s appointment of Bruno Oguda Obodha as managing director.

Kenya: The Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) has called for urgent measures to tackle the rising presence of substandard cement in the market, amid a reported increase in building collapses, according to The Eastleigh Voice newspaper. The institution has called for audits of manufacturers, enforcement of verification and random sampling from hardware stores and distribution centres.

In a statement, IEK said bags labelled as 50kg were often lighter, some weighing as little as 45kg. Its members had recorded compressive strength reductions of up to 25% in concrete made with some cement brands on the market, even those bearing the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) mark of quality.

Kenya: Kenya’s cement clinker imports have dropped by 93% year-on-year to 10,340t in 2024 from 148,000t in 2023, according to the government’s 2025 Economic Survey. The value of imported clinker fell to US$27,500 from US$409,000 in 2023 and US$3.2bn in 2020. Import volumes had already fallen by 77% in 2023, from 656Mt in 2022.

Cement production declined by 7% from 9.6Mt to 8.9Mt in 2024, while consumption also fell by 7% to 8.5Mt. Construction sector growth contracted by 0.7% in 2024, down from 3% in 2023.

Kenya: Bruno Oguda Obodha, who had previously been appointed by the Kenyan President William Ruto to be managing director of East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), has been charged with fraud. He is accused of forging documents with the intent to commit fraud on various dates in 2024. Obodha never served at EAPCC, as its board rejected his appointment in December 2024, citing its suspicions of fraud.

The charges include deliberately confusing membership of the Blue Make International Security Company with that of the Protective Security Industry Association, altering a document relating to EAPCC with the intent to defraud, and making a document without authority.

Obodha will be trialled in court on 29 April 2025.

Kenya: Cement sales fell by 8% year-on-year to 8.47Mt in 2024, the sharpest annual decline in over two decades, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The fall reflects budgetary cuts on public infrastructure projects and a broader slowdown in construction activity, which contracted by 3% in the third quarter of 2024, following a 2% drop in the second quarter.

KNBS said in its report “The contraction was reflected by trends in key industry indicators. For instance, cement consumption declined by 10% to 2.2Mt in the third quarter of 2024, from 2.4Mt in the same quarter of 2023.”

According to the Nation newspaper, the slowdown follows delays in the government’s payments to contractors and the stalling of infrastructure projects. The government indicated that most of the stalled projects will begin to receive funding in the next few days and weeks.