02 August 2016
Zimbabwe PPC cement plant to be completed in 2016 02 August 2016
Zimbabwe: Darryll Castle, the CEO of PPC, has reassured shareholders that the construction of the group’s 0.7Mt/yr cement plant in Zimbabwe remains on schedule for completion in 2016. Castle said that the project makes sense from a cost-optimisation basis even if the volume isn’t required in the country. He made the comments at PPC’s extraordinary general meeting amid reports of rioting in the country and import restrictions on some South African goods, according to the Business Day newspaper. The project is one of four cement plants the cement producer is building in Africa outside of South Africa.
Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) has signed a financing deal with Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group (Samba) for US$100m. The facility, which has a two-year grace period, will go towards financing the construction of the company’s fifth cement plant and should be repaid in three and half years.
QNCC signed a letter of intent with Fives FCB in 2014 to build the 5000t/day clinker production line at a cost of US$261m. The plant was expected to become operational within 27 months, according to local media. The company decided to build its fifth cement plant in response to an expected increase in demand in the run up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup being held in Qatar. In June 2016 QNCC also announced plans to close cement plant 1 with effect from the start of the month.
China: LafargeHolcim has signed a framework agreement with Tianjin Circle Enterprise Management Center (Tianjin Circle) to sell a controlling stake in Sichuan Shuangma Cement (Shuangma) for Euro469m. The multinational cement producer owns 55.93% of Shuangma. The sale is subject to approval from the shareholders of Shuangma and the completion of a mandatory offer for the shares of minority shareholders of Shuangma, as well as normal regulatory approval. The acquisition is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tianjin Circle has agreed an option to purchase the remaining shares in Shuangma from LafargeHolcim in 2018 for Euro147m. LafargeHolcim has also agreed an option to buy Shuangma’s cement assets, within a certain period after the sale closes, for around Euro358m. On this basis, the expected immediate impact on LafargeHolcim net debt of these agreements would have been a reduction of Euro112m.
Sichuan Shuangma is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and operates four integrated cement plants with a production capacity of 11Mt/yr.