Global Cement News

Sudan: Musa Mohamed Karama, the Minister of Industry, says that government is keen to remove all obstacles facing the cement industry including a block on exports. The announcement follows a meeting with Mohamed Abdullah, the UAE-based chairman of Berber Cement Company, according to the Sudan News Agency. The country’s cement production capacity exceeds its domestic consumption.

Colombia: Édgar Ramírez Martínez, the former vice president of planning for Cemex, will be detained in prison as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the acquisition of land at Maceo in Antioquia for the construction of a cement plant. The prosecutor’s court has also issued a detention ticket for Camilo González Téllez, former vice president of planning for Cemex Colombia, who is currently in the US, according to Noticias Financieras. Eugenio Correa Díaz, the former representative of CI Calizas y Minerales, which sold the property to the cement producer, will also be detained.

The former employees of Cemex allegedly paid over US$13m to Correa, despite being aware of the fact that the property was in the process of being expropriated over unpaid taxes.

Colombia: Cemex Colombia, LG and the mayor of Ibague say that they have started technical economic and legal studies studies to support building a solar plant near Ibague in Tolima. The unit will supply energy to the Caracolito cement plant and lighting systems in the nearby city, according to Valora Analitik. The solar plant will be located on a 56-hecatre site owned by the Mayor’s Office on the Doima - Buenos Aires highway.

India: The Supreme Court has ordered the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to adjudicate upon all issues relating to the Binani Cement insolvency case, including whether Ultratech Cement’s bid for the company is eligible. The case will be heard by the appeals tribunal from mid-July 2018, according to the Mint newspaper. The NCLAT is the body that processes appeals from the National Company Law Tribunal, a legal body that adjudicates disputes between companies.

UltraTech Cement made a direct bid of US$1.12bn for the bankrupt Binani Cement following an auction in March 2018 that was originally won by Dalmia Bharat. Dalmia Bharat has disputed UltraTech Cement’s offer and the two companies have conducted legal campaigns to reinforce their respective claims.

France/Syria: Lafarge SA, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, has been placed under judicial investigation over its actions in Syria between 2011 and 2014. It has been accused of complicity in crimes against humanity and financing terrorism, according to the Agence France Presse.

LafargeHolcim said that would appeal against the charges. It admitted that the system of supervision of its Syrian subsidiary did not allow the company to identify wrongdoing. However, it blamed this on “…an unprecedented violation of internal regulations and compliance rules by a small group of individuals who have left the group.”

“We truly regret what has happened in the Syria subsidiary and after learning about it took immediate and firm actions. None of the individuals put under investigation is today with the company,” said the chairman of the board of LafargeHolcim, Beat Hess.

Non-government organisation (NGO) Sherpa, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said it was the first time that a parent company anywhere in the world had been charged with complicity in crimes against humanity. A panel of three judges in Paris has ordered Lafarge to pay over Euro30m as a security deposit ahead of the trial. Eight former executives, including ex-chief executive officer (CEO) Bruno Lafont, have already been charged in connection to the investigation.