Brazil: Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), Huaxin Cement and Votorantim Cimentos have all bid for InterCement’s Brazilian business, Valor Online News has reported. The source stated that Votorantim Cimentos is leading a consortium alongside Italy-based Buzzi and concrete producer Polimix Concreto, however the Brazilian cement market leader denied this, stating that its offer is ‘individual and independent.’ Both Votorantim Cimentos and CSN Cimentos are reportedly considering making initial public offerings (IPOs).

Votorantim Cimentos said “The company clarifies that it is not part of nor leads any consortium within the auction process. To date, its offer remains under evaluation by the respective seller and, therefore, no documents have been signed with any counterparty that generate an obligation or firm commitment for the acquisition of the assets that were the subject of the offer.”

Saudi Arabia: Sinoma Overseas Development completed start-up testing and hand-over of new grinding mills at Arabian Cement Company’s Rabigh cement on 21 February 2024. The supplier said that the delivery was in accordance with the terms of the original contract between its parent company, China National Building Material (CNBM), and the producer.

Sinoma Overseas Development attributed deviations from the project’s previously announced schedule to the need for discussions with CNBM about remaining project works, equipment operation plans, procurement schedules and acceptance tests. As provided for in the contract, the work will be subject to a 5% delay penalty.

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned 1.8Mt/yr of new cement capacity at its Kotputli cement plant in Rajasthan. The expanded plant will help the producer to serve markets in Rajasthan and the National Capital Region. Projects Today News has reported that the expansion is part of a 22.6Mt/yr capacity growth drive, first announced in June 2022. The latest commissioning has raised UltraTech Cement’s all-India capacity by 1.3% to 137Mt/yr, and that in Rajasthan by 11% to 18.9Mt/yr.

Australia: France-based Saint-Gobain has submitted a non-binding indicative offer of US$5.44bn for building materials producer and land banking entity CSR. CSR’s businesses include insulation producer Bradford, fibre cement systems producer Cemintel, wallboard producer Gyprock, autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block producer Hebel and roofing producer Monier. Together, CSR’s building materials units accounted for 72% of its sales in 2023.