Cement News tagged under: Zimbabwe

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Lafarge Zimbabwe obtains US$30m loan

09 May 2019, Published under Cement News

Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe has obtained a long-term US$30m facility from its parent company to enable settlement of outstanding obligations, according to The Zimbabwe Independent. The company has also acquired a US$4.4 short-term loan facility to cover working capital requirements.

Zimbabwe's construction contracts in 4Q18

12 April 2019, Published under Cement News

Zimbabwe's construction industry contracted by 6.3 percentage points last year. A Treasury report cited cement shortages and high prices of construction materials for the slowdown. The construction sector registered 7.7 per cent growth in 4Q18 having been revised down from a Treasury forecast of 14 per cent growth. "The construction industry boom that was being experienced in the economy during the1H18 suffered a huge setback following acute cement shortages and unsustainable prices of c...

PPC

01 April 2019, Published under Cement News

S&P Global Ratings has downgraded PPC to one notch above non-investment grade due to the poor performance of its South Africa business. Weaker-than-expected profitability in the South Africa market has led S&P to expect an increase in PPC’s debt to EBITDA in the face of tightening competition and falling demand. In the nine months ending December 2018, PPC’s South Africa business increased prices by two per cent, while cement volumes came in three per cent down. S&P also noted that the marke...

Livetouch Investments plans new US$30m plant in Zimbabwe

27 March 2019, Published under Cement News

Livetouch Investments has announced plans to invest US$30m for a new plant in Hwange, Zimbabwe. The facility is expected to be set up by the end of the year and would run alongside the company’s other plant in the area, which was inaugurated in 2017 . "Our medium-term plan is to put another plant in the Hwange area, which will produce 100,000t of cement per year. We are expecting to commit US$30m into this project," said Dongning Wang, CEO, in an interview with NewsDay. The Chinese compa...

PPC Zimbabwe calls on government to protect local cement production

21 March 2019, Published under Cement News

Zimbabwe’s largest cement producer, PPC Zimbabwe, has called on the government to pass legislation to protect domestically-produced cement from imports. Last year, the government lifted a two-year import bank on some basic commodities, including cement, to reduce the shortages that drove the public into panic buying. This has had a negative impact on local cement producer competitiveness, according to PPC Zimbabwe’s Managing Director, Kelibone Masiyane. “What really has rendered us uncom...

Lafarge Zimbabwe appoints new CEO

11 January 2019, Published under Cement News

Lafarge Zimbabwe has appointed a new CEO to lead the company as it fights to maintain its market share following a rise in imports and increasing competition from domestic rivals. Kaziwe Siame Kaulule will replace Amal Naiel, who left Lafarge Zimbabwe “to pursue other personal interests” after being in charge of the company for five years. Mr Kaulule, who is from Zambia, joins Lafarge Zimbabwe from Lafarge Holcim in the UK, where he was general manager for retail and has previously serve...

Sino-Zimbabwe's output to be severely reduced by power cuts

09 October 2018, Published under Cement News

Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Co will not produce the amount of cement it had planned to during October because of the scheduled power cuts by ZESA. ZESA is carrying out maintenance work on its 88kv Sherwood-Mvuma feeder station which supplies  the Sino-Zimbabwe cement plant with its power. The maintenance work is expected to cause interruptions for the entire month of October. The cement plant is expected to be without power for two days every week during the month of October.

Calls for new capacity in Zimbabwe amid demand surge

01 October 2018, Published under Cement News

Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe’s commercial director, Edith Matekaire, has called for new investments in production capacity to ensure the country does not run out of supply by 2020. "We know we talk about all the macroeconomic issues like the cost of energy and cost of labour, but I want to say that beyond 2020, we will begin to run out of capacity as an industry, and I have no doubt that it is time to act now," Matekaire said. Speaking at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries annual cong...

PPC

26 September 2018, Published under Cement News

PPC Zimbabwe has contacted its customers and stakeholders to confirm that the current cement shortage being faced by the country is temporary. “The cement industry in the country has the capacity to produce over 2Mta, adequate to satisfy the current market demand estimated at 1.3Mta,” said PPC in a statement. PPC Zimbabwe is reportedly operating at peak capacity utilisation following the planned annual kiln maintenance undertaken in July at its Colleen Bawn factory. Kelibone Masiyane, managi...

Zimbabwe's cement prices skyrocket

11 September 2018, Published under Cement News

Cement prices in Zimbabwe have hit a new high with 50kg bags being sold for US$20-25 on the black market compared to the authorised retail prices of US$11.50/bag for ordinary Portland cement and US$10/bag for masonry cement. A statement released by the Cement and Concrete Institute of Zimbabwe (CCIZ) last week indicated that the industry may not be able to cope with the rising demand, estimated at 30 per cent year-to-date since the same period last year, unless foreign currency shortages ...