08 January 2015
Peru/China: China's Jidong Development Group may finalise discussions regarding the takeover of Peruvian cement firm Cementos Interoceanicos in the next couple of weeks, according to local media. With the acquisition, Jidong will be able to further expand its global reach.
Jidong representatives have visited Cementos Interoceanicos' activities in Puno, southeast Peru, as part of the negotiations process, the news provider explained, adding that Cementos Interoceanicos is currently developing its manufacturing plant in the region. Cementos Interoceanicos also holds mining rights to 54km2 of land in the Puno region, smaller areas in Arequipa and other areas.
Bamburi subsidiary gets US$5m loan for operations 08 January 2015
Kenya: Seruji Limited, a distribution subsidiary of Bamburi Cement, has borrowed US$5m from TriLinc Global to finance its activities at a time when competition in the industry has reached new heights.
"TriLinc funded a US$5m trade finance transaction at a fixed interest rate of 14.75% to a Kenyan cement distributor engaged in the production and distribution of cement," said TriLinc. "The transaction, set to mature on 17 March 2015, is supported by inventory, receivables and other liquid assets." TriLinc added that Seruji met one of its investment criteria of being a small or medium enterprise (SME) in its growth stage.
"Founded in 2008, the borrower is a growing Kenyan cement distributor that utilises cutting-edge energy-efficient and eco-friendly cement grinding technology to improve sustainability," said TriLinc, which has also invested in Zambian, Namibian and South African SMEs. Kenyan companies are increasingly using foreign-based lenders with the capacity to lend larger amounts and at a lower cost than local financiers.
Poland’s cement sales to grow to 16Mt in 2015 08 January 2015
Poland: According to the Polish Association of Cement Producers (SPC), cement sales might exceed 16Mt in 2015, while in 2017 - 2018 they might return to the record-breaking level of 19Mt. Official sales figures for 2014 have not been revealed yet, but recent estimates show that some 15 - 15.2Mt of cement were sold in 2014, which would represent a 6% increase when compared to the 14.3Mt sold in 2013.
Coal strike may impact industrial growth across India 08 January 2015
India: A strike by coal workers' unions would impact industrial growth across the country, industry chambers said. It asked the trade unions to resolve their grievances in an amicable manner.
"The strike would impact industrial growth across India, especially in power-deficient northern and southern regions, resulting in long unplanned outages," said Assocham secretary general D S Rawat. "The strike would impact all industries based on coal, including the cement industries that are already reeling under the pressure of raw material prices."
Over 75% of India's daily coal output has been hit as the five-day strike by workers of State-run miners entered the second day on 7 January 2015, raising fears of disruption in power supplies. The industrial action is in protest of 'disinvestment and restructuring of state-run Coal India' and to press for demands, including the roll-back of what unions call 'process of denationalising of coal sector.'
Appealing to all trade unions to call off the strike, Process Harmony Development (PHD) chamber president Alok Shriram said that they should negotiate with the government to resolve their concerns and grievances in an amicable manner. The government has begun an exercise to reform India with progressive and modest policies to put it on the path of accelerated growth. Any sort of strike to oppose and obstruct the evolving policies would harm the country's economic interest, according to Shriram.
"The path of strike serves neither workers nor the policy makers. Therefore, the working class of Coal India ought to seek redressal of their grievances through negotiations," said Shriram.
Update: According to Reuters, the strike has been called off on the second day (7 January 2015) after the government agreed to re-examine the decision.
Power minister Piyush Goyal agreed to form a committee to look into any issues with a recently-passed executive order that would allow auctions of coal mines to private companies for their own use, as well as allowing commercial mining in the future.
"We have withdrawn the strike," said Jibon Roy, a senior union leader. "The minister agreed to form a committee. They will see what are the problems in the ordinance (executive order). Normal discussions on other demands will continue."