Algeria: South African cement firm PPC has announced that it will buy a stake in an Algerian cement company as part of its drive to boost sales outside its home market.
PPC said that it will buy a 49% stake in Hodna Cement, which plans to construct a US$350m plant in the country. PPC did not disclose how much the deal will cost, but said that it will be funded on a project finance basis, with 80% of the debt to be sourced from local Algerian banks.
"This project sees us entering yet another African country and gives us confidence that by 2017, 40% of PPC revenues will be earned outside of South Africa," said PPC CEO, Ketso Gordhan. PPC is also constructing cement plants in Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
