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JSW Cement to acquire some India Cements assets 10 October 2022
India: JSW Cement is 'closing in' on an acquisition of some of India Cements' assets in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that JSW Cement beat an offer by UltraTech Cement for the Rajasthan assets.
India Cements began construction of a new 3Mt/yr cement plant with a dedicated limestone mine in Madhya Pradesh in 2022. In May 2022, it announced that it was contemplating a land sale in order to reduce its debt. India Cements ended the 2022 financial year with debt of US$369m, up by 1.4% year-on-year from US$364m at the close of the 2021 financial year.
Pakistan: Pakistani cement companies sold 9.61Mt of cement during the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, down by 25% year-on-year from 12.8Mt in the first quarter of the 2021 financial year. Exports declined by 34% to 1.01Mt of cement, from 1.55Mt. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said that current economic conditions impacted both domestic and export sales.
Separately, the APCMA has expressed its concern over State Bank of Pakistan limits on the use of letters of credit by companies for the purchase of spare parts and other machinery. The association says that present restrictive conditions will create operational difficulties for the industry.
Adani Port seeks damages for Vizhinjam port construction delays 10 October 2022
India: Adani Group subsidiary Adani Port has sued the government of Kerala for US$9.56m in compensation for on-going delays to the construction of the upcoming Vizhinjam port in the south of the state. A local church-led protest over the rights of fishing communities has stalled construction of the port. The New India Express newspaper has reported that Adani Port had lost over US$12m on 8 October 2022 as a result of the delay. The company rented 12 barges for the work.
The government will hold talks with protestors on 13 October 2022.
Seratech's carbon-neutral cement wins Obel Award 2022 10 October 2022
UK: Denmark-based architecture fund Henrik Frode Obel Foundation has named Seratech as winner of its Obel Award 2022. The award recognises architectural contributions to global development. Seratech has developed an olivine-based composite cement produced using CO2 from flue emissions, which can sequester double the CO2 of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). When used as 40% of a blend with OPC, it is able to completely offset the emissions of concrete production.
Team member Barnaby Shanks said "The beauty of the idea is that you can just use it as normal concrete. There are other carbon-neutral materials, but they can be limiting because they can only be precast, cured in a lab in special conditions and shipped elsewhere. We want people to retain the freedom to use concrete the way that they are used to. We don’t want to limit people in any way because we’ll just lessen the amount of impact we can have."
San Miguel Equity Investments acquires 89% Eagle Cement stake 07 October 2022
Philippines: The board of directors of Eagle Cement has acknowledged the acquisition of 89% of the producer's issued shares by San Miguel Equity Investments (SMEI). SMEI has conducted a mandatory tender offer for the remainder of Eagle Cement's shares. The board adopted three resolutions, namely to extend its cooperation to SMEI, to voluntarily delist its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange (subject to SMEI's acquisition of more than 90% of shares) and to hold a special meeting of its shareholders.