Displaying items by tag: Philippines
Philippines: San Miguel Corporation will invest US$1bn to build five new cement plants in different parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The amount is higher than the earlier announced US$800m due to the addition of three new cement plants to the two previously disclosed facilities.
San Miguel president and COO Ramon Ang said that the five new plants would have a total capacity of 10Mt/yr, 2Mt/yr at each plant. The plants are expected to be operational in 2017. The projects will be undertaken by affiliates Northern Cement and Eagle Cement in Pangasinan, Bulacan, Quezon, Cebu and Davao. San Miguel owns a 35% stake in Northern Cement, while Eagle Cement is privately-owned by Ang.
Ang said that now is a good time to invest in cement because a lot of people are investing in real estate. He added that if ever there were ever oversupply, the market would correct in two to three years. The additional 10Mt/yr capacity would bring San Miguel's cement capacity to roughly 16Mt/yr. Ang said that the cement industry of the Philippines currently has 33Mt/yr of cement capacity, which would increase to 43Mt/yr once San Miguel's new cement plants are in place.
CRH concludes final part of LafargeHolcim acquisition in Philippines
15 September 2015Ireland/Philippines: CRH has completed the Philippines element of its Euro6.5bn acquisition of certain Lafarge-Holcim assets and as such has now completed the entire deal.
On 2 February 2015, CRH announced that it had reached agreement to acquire certain assets from Lafarge and Holcim for a total enterprise value of Euro6.5bn. On 3 August 2015, CRH confirmed that the majority of the transaction was complete, with the exception of the operations in the Philippines. In a press release issued on 15 September 2015, CRH announced that the Philippines element of the transaction is now complete.
Solid Cement spills 2000L of bunker oil into Rizal River
10 September 2015Philippines: A leak in Solid Cement's fuel storage tank in Antipolo is suspected of releasing an estimated 2000L of bunker fuel into a river system in Rizal, raising concerns that it may reach Laguna Lake.
"Initial investigation showed that the leak was from a fuel storage tank located at the Solid Cement Plant in Antipolo. It appears that the strong gusts of wind and heavy downpour caused the leak to reach the Kaynaog Creek leading to the Tagbak River," said Chito Maniago, Solid Cement's communications director.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that its Laguna de Bay Station received a call from Jerome Mateo of the Morong local government on 8 September 2015 to report an oil spill in the vicinity of the Teresa River. The PCG said that its team, along with representatives from the Marine Environmental Protection, discovered that approximately 2000L (10 drums) of bunker oil had been spilled at the river.
The initial investigation showed that the spill came from Solid Cement, located at Sitio Tagbac, Barangay San Jose in Antipolo. The PCG team was also informed that traces of the oil spill was found on the Morong River in Barangay Poblacion, Morong, which it later confirmed. The team took oil samples from both sites and the cement plant as part of its investigation.
The PCG said that it advised Solid Cement to lay out oil spill booms at the villages that reported traces of oil in their part of the river; Barangay May-iba and Barangay Poblacion along the Morong River. The company has duly deployed three oil spill booms to date and will put in place additional oil spill booms at the mouth of Morong River leading to Laguna Lake.
"The safety of the community and the environment remain our priority. We assure everyone that we are on top of the situation to immediately resolve this incident. Our investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of this leakage. We will provide updates as soon as available," said a Solid Cement spokesperson.
Philippines: Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc, a Philippine investment holding company, has signed a US$400m loan to help fund the acquisition of the Philippine assets and business of cement maker Lafarge SA. The loan is being provided by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.
Aboitiz Equity signed a deal with CRH in May 2015 to allow it to join the Irish building materials company in buying Lafarge's cement plants in the Philippines. CRH earlier agreed to buy the assets as part of Lafarge and Holcim assets that were due to be sold off prior to the formation of LafargeHolcim. Aboitiz Equity had said the investment is part of efforts to expand in infrastructure development.
Philippines: Holcim Philippines will invest up to US$40m to expand its production capacity from 8Mt/yr to 10Mt/yr target by the end of 2016.
Holcim Philippines president and CEO Eduardo A Sahagun said that the company was gearing up to improve its facilities in Calaca and Mabini in Batangas, as well as in Norzagaray in Bulacan. Sahagun said that the newly-acquired Star terminal of Lafarge Republic would also increase its production capacity.
"We are reviving a lot of projects. Our Calaca plant is easily adjustable to additional volume as well as the Mabini plant and the Star terminal. The Star terminal could double our capacity. Cement demand is growing and we have no option but to raise our supply," said Sahagun. He expects to see surging market demand due to new public-private partnership (PPP) projects and as more infrastructure major players in the country have announced expansion plans.
"The market prospects remain bright as construction activity is expected to continue," said Sahagun. He attributed the growth to higher private construction activities and accelerated government infrastructure spending.
"Our investment in plant upgrades allows our plants to run longer before scheduled maintenance activities. This will pay off in the current market environment as we are able to meet the demands of customers," Sahagun added.
Cement sales indicate good growth in the Philippines
10 August 2015Philippines: Philippine construction activity growth, which slowed to 4.4% in the first quarter of the 2016 fiscal year compared with an average 5% growth in the previous three quarters, appears to have picked up in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, which ended on 30 June 2015, as indicated by Holcim Philippines' sales over the period and reported by Dow Jones.
In the second quarter of its 2016 financial year, Holcim Philippines' net sales rose by 9.7% year-on-year to US$212m, aided by higher sales volumes and prices. Holcim president Eduardo Sahagun said that the company was improving plant efficiency and upgrading it to run longer to cover strong demand. He said that cement prices don't appear to be as big a concern as supply. "We understand that contractors are most concerned with steady cement supply and this is what we are trying to address in the second half," said Sahagun.
Holcim Philippines buys Lafarge Republic assets
06 August 2015Philippines: Holcim Philippines Inc plans to expand its market and offer a wider range of construction solutions following its acquisition of Lafarge Republic Inc's Star terminal in Manila and its aggregates business in Rizal. Holcim Philippines president and CEO Eduardo Sahagun said that the purchase is a welcome addition to the company's business.
"These assets further strengthen our ability to provide products and solutions that help our customers and partners in the construction industry," said Sahagun. He said Lafarge's Star terminal would strengthen Holcim Philippines' ability to support customers in Metro Manila and South Luzon, while the acquisition of Lafarge Republic Aggregates Inc, located in Angono, Rizal, would provide the company an established aggregates business. Holcim Philippines closed the deal on 4 August 2015 and paid US$67.5m for the assets.
Philippines: Cement sales have surged in the first six months of the year behind robust construction activities in the country, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP).
CeMAP president Ernesto Ordoñez said that total cement sales rose by 11.1% to 11.9Mt in the first half of 2015 from 10.7Mt in the same period of 2014, according to The Philippine Star. Ordoñez said that construction activity remained strong in the first semester, fuelled primarily by growing business confidence in the country. "The weather was also exceptionally good in the first half of 2015. There were some rains, but generally the weather cooperated very well," said Ordoñez.
For the second quarter of 2015, cement sales grew by 12.5% year-on-year to 6.21Mt. This followed 9.6% growth in the first quarter. According to Ordoñez, growth was higher in the second quarter because the government accelerated its spending. The government, for its part, has been increasing the budget for infrastructure to address gaps and support economic growth. CeMAP is banking on the increase of construction activities in the country to support higher cement sales.
Philippines: According to BusinessWorld, San Miguel Group plans to invest US$2bn to build two cement facilities and a nickel processing plant as part of its diversification efforts into new growth areas.
San Miguel has allocated US$800m for the two 2Mt/yr cement facilities, according to San Miguel president Ramon S Ang. Construction has already begun. One of the facilities is located at Northern Cement's plant in Pangasinan, while the other is being built in Quezon. In 2013, San Miguel paid US$77.5m for a 35% stake in Northern Cement, which is owned by the conglomerate's chairman, Eduardo M Cojuangco, Jr. The facilities, which are expected to be completed in 2017, will be funded by 50% debt and 50% equity.
San Miguel's venture into the cement business comes as it participates in major infrastructure projects. San Miguel-led Optimal Infrastructure Development won the contract for the US$351m second stage of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway Project. San Miguel is also building the US$591m third stage of the Metro Manila Skyway and the Tarlac- Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, as well as expanding the South Luzon Expressway.
Cemex to expand social responsibility schemes
03 July 2015South America/Asia: Mexican cement company Cemex has confirmed plans to expand its social responsibility programme to Guatemala, Bangladesh and the Philippines by 2016. The firm intends to installed self-employment production centres (CPA) in these countries to help low-income families renovate their houses.
The initiative, developed in collaboration with authorities and non-governmental organisations, provides construction training and teaches how to manufacture concrete blocks. Half of the production obtained at these centres is used in the construction or renovation of the participants' houses and the other half is bought by local governments to develop infrastructure projects. The income achieved by the initiative is then reinvested by Cemex in the centres.
Cemex already operates 80 CPAs in Mexico and expects to open 20 additional centres in 2015. It has also developed the initiative in Colombia since 2010.