Lafarge denies claims of market dominance, Kenya

Lafarge has denied claims by Kenya’s antitrust authority that the cement producer may be flouting domestic competition rules and said it wants to work with the government to boost returns in the nation’s cement industry, reports Bloomberg.

The Competition Authority of Kenya is probing the company’s influence on prices through its 59 per cent stake in Bamburi Cement Co and 42 per cent interest in East Africa Portland Cement Co (EAPCC), the nation’s largest and third-biggest cement producers, respectively.

“With the arrival of new players and growing demand, Bamburi’s market share has been decreasing over time and is now in the region of 39 per cent,” Tresarrieu Didier Tresarrieu, the company’s representative on EAPCC’s board told Bloomberg. “None of the players is dominant and there is therefore no possibility of abuse of a dominant position.”

The competition authority said earlier this month it may force Lafarge to sell some of its interest if the company is found to have a dominant position in violation of antitrust legislation

The government wants Lafarge to dilute its shareholding in EAPCC because no company should hold a “monopolistic stake” in Kenyan industries, Industrialization and Enterprise Development Permanent Secretary Wilson Songa said on 12 February.