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Cemex enters new US$1.35bn credit agreement

01 October 2014, Published under Cement News

Cemex SAB de CV announced it entered a new credit agreement for US$1.35bn with nine of the main lending banks from its Facilities Agreement of 17 September 2012. The new agreement’s main terms include an average four-year term with equal semi-annual payments of principal of 20 per cent each, with a three-year grace period and September 2019 as the last payment date. In addition, there will be a spread over LIBOR of 250-375 basis points, depending on the level of leverage of the company, an...

Taiwan Cement further hikes price in China

30 September 2014, Published under Cement News

Taiwan Cement announced a further rise in cement prices in China’s Guandong province due to the increasing demand in the domestic market. The price hike follows an earlier increase in August . The company hiked prices in the country’s key market by CNY20 (US$3.26)/t. High-grade cement now costs CNY340/t, up from CNY320/t. Taiwan Cement said demand in the Pearl River Delta area expanded considerably in late September as inventories fell due to construction projects ahead of the 1 Octo...

UK: Votorantim interest in Tarmac

29 September 2014, Published under Cement News

Votorantim is understood to be planning a bid for a package of businesses being offloaded by Holcim and  Lafarge, in an effort to seal a GBP32bn mega-merger that would include Tarmac, one of Britain’s largest companies. It is not known whether the Sâo Paulo-based company wants to buy all the assets being sold or cherry-pick parts in different countries. The disposals are expected to attract offers from other big players, including Ireland’s CRH and HeidelbergCement. The sell-off, valued at...

Sagar gets Board nod for BMM acquisition

25 September 2014, Published under Cement News

The board of Sagar Cements has given approval in-principle for the acquisition of a 100 per cent equity stake in BMM Cements Ltd as the company seeks to expand its presence in southern India. The deal involves the acquisition of a 1Mta cement plant and a 25MW captive thermal power plant in Gudipadu, near Tadipatri Anantapur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Successful completion of the transaction is subject to further negotiation to arrive at the acquisition price and other term...

Sabanci Holding eyes LafargeHolcim assets

24 September 2014, Published under Cement News

Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding plans to bid for some of the assets Lafarge and Holcim must sell to receive approval from competition watchdogs ahead of its planned merger, a source with knowledge of the deal told Reuters. Sabanci is aiming for growth through acquisitions and said in March that it plans to spend TRL1-1.5bn (US$448-672m) on such investments. "Preparations are being made for a bid in December," the source said, adding that Sabanci is interested mainly in European busine...

PPC chief executive quits, South Africa

23 September 2014, Published under Cement News

Ketso Gordhan, the chief executive officer of PPC Ltd (PPC), resigned from his post at South Africa’s largest cement maker because of differences with the board. Mr Gordhan, who was appointed at the start of last year, quit abruptly on Monday prompted by what the company described in a statement as "differences of opinion" with the board, regarding "procedures for the approval of certain decisions. The statement however added that Gordhan had agreed to continue providing input to crucia...

Indonesian firms expect better second-half

23 September 2014, Published under Cement News

Two of Indonesia's top three cement producers are expecting a better financial performance in the second half of this year, on the back of growing demand despite a projected slowdown in the country's economy. Christian Kartawijaya, president director of Indonesia's second-largest producer PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, told reporters at the Investor Summit 2014 that there would likely be more construction projects carried out in the second half of the year. “The projected growing cement ...

PCA: new capacity projections unchanged

23 September 2014, Published under Cement News

Previously announced plans of more than 6Mta of new capacity during 2016-18 remain unchanged, according to the Portland Cement Association’s (PCA’s) latest capacity report. There have been no plant shutdowns since April 2012. However, the re-opening of plants closed during the economic downturn has yet to materialise, the association has said. PCA’s latest projections for cement consumption suggest sustained growth though the forecast horizon. "Given a domestic capacity scenario still char...

JSW seeks to expand southern Indian presence

23 September 2014, Published under Cement News

JSW Cement, a subsidiary of the JSW Group, is mulling the  construction of a 4.3Mta cement plant in the Gulbarga district of Karnataka, reports Business Line (India). The project is being considered with a view to serving other southern markets such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to SS Sandhu, JSW Cement vice president. Well connected markets like Gujarat and Maharashtra have also fuelled the decision to launch another plant, Sandhu added. The company has a current cement capac...

Spain’s cement market contracts 3% in August

18 September 2014, Published under Cement News

Spain’s cement consumption fell by a further three per cent in August 2014 to 819,249t. In the first eight months of 2014 domestic demand registered a two per cent YoY fall to 7.1Mt. “With these data we can talk about record lows, with figures even more daunting in regions such as Catalonia, with a cumulative decline of 15.8 per cent in the first eight months of the year,” said Oficemen CEO, Aniceto Zaragoza. “Given the weak state of the domestic market and to preserve activity in our pl...