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Eagle Cement to benefit from US$9.9m tax break 22 June 2018
Philippines: Eagle Cement expects to save up to US$9.9m from a three-year income tax holiday for its new cement production line at its Barangay plant in Bulacan. The cement producer says it has been granted the tax exemption from the Board of Investments as it’s the only company expanding its production capacity, according to the Inquirer newspaper. Its competitors have been expanding their distribution capacity instead. Other savings are also anticipated from importing equipment from outside the country.
The company started producing cement on its third production line at its Barangay plant in April 2018. The upgrade added 2Mt/yr to the company’s total production capacity. It expects to reach its full capacity by the third quarter of 2018. The company is also building a new 2Mt/yr cement plant at Cebu is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
CRH completes acquisition of Ash Grove 21 June 2018
US: Ireland’s CRH has completed its acquisition of Ash Grove Cement. It agreed to buy Ash Grove Cement in mid-2017 for US$3.5bn. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its consent for the transaction on the condition that CRH sell the Three Forks cement plant in Montana. It also forced CRH to sell other assets in Montana, Nebraska and Kansas.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Coal producer Banovici plans to build a 1.1Mt/yr cement plant for Euro250m. It has already obtained the necessary documents and secured an environmental permit. Work on the plant is planned to begin in 2019, according to Ekapija. The company said that a strategic partner would provide the funds and ‘may’ build the plant or choose the contractor for its construction. Cement from the plant will be used locally and exported to Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia.
Kazakhstan: Gezhouba Shieli Cement plans to commission its 1Mt/yr plant in the Kyzylorda region in December 2018. The US$188m unit will be used to produce oil well cement, according to Interfax. The project is a joint venture majority owned by Chinese investors with a minority stake from a local cement company. The plant is being built by China Triumph International Engineering.
CNBM increases majority share in Southwest Cement 21 June 2018
China: China National Building Material (CNBM) has agreed to buy a further 18.7% stake in Southwest Cement for US$295m from Zhonshai Trust. The building materials producer already owns a 70% majority stake in its subsidiary. The remaining stake in Southwest Cement is owned by Shanghai Zhentong (6.3%) and Beijing Huachen (5%).