14 December 2022

Russia: Holcim has agreed to sell its Russian business to its local management. When the transaction is completed, the business will continue to operate under different branding. Holcim says that it remains committed to supporting Holcim Russia’s employees and ensuring an orderly transfer for its customers. DGAP Corporate News has reported that Holcim deconsolidated the subsidiary in March 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Holcim said “Holcim’s Board of Directors expresses its heartfelt concern about the tragic human suffering in the region, and is fully committed to supporting affected people, families and communities. The Board of Directors thanks all Holcim colleagues who are mobilising around the world alongside local NGOs to provide shelter, essential goods and medical supplies, as well as volunteering their time.”

Oman: The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has replaced the board of directors of Raysut Cement and appointed a temporary one following a financial audit. The CMA said the new board would, “deal with the reasons that led the company to conditions that prompted such action.” It will restructure the company to ensure the stability of its financial position. In late November 2022 the CMA questioned the validity of the company’s third quarter results in 2022 when it detected ‘material misrepresentation.’ Additionally, the cement producer’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer resigned in August 2022 and November 2022 respectively.

The new board is headed by Hamdan Ahmed Al Shaqsi. It also includes Majid Sultan Al Tauqi, Dr. Ali Amer Al Ghaithi, Ahmed Saud Al Zakwani and Mubeen Jalil Yasin Khan. The new board members will each hold their posts for three years.

Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufactures Association (BCMA) has demanded that an additional 30% increase to import duties on limestone be removed. A supplementary duty was introduced in November 2022 when the National Board of Revenue (NBR) changed the way limestone was coded in response to a significant increase in imports since 2020, according to the New Nation newspaper. Previously limestone importers were paying a duty US$7.80/t. Now they are reportedly paying US$14.60/t.

The BCM wrote to the NBR about the issue in mid-November 2022. BCMA president Alamgir Kabir renewed his association’s lobbying to remove the additional duty at a press conference held in mid-December 2022.

Sweden: The Land and Environmental Court has granted Cementa a four-year permit to continue mining operations in Slite on Gotland. The latest temporary permit was set to expire at the end of 2022. Both the Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) and the county administrative board of Gotland recommended rejecting Cementa’s application earlier in 2022. Prior to this the central government extended the cement company’s mining licence by one year from late 2021.

The subsidiary of Germany-based Heidelberg Materials said that it viewed the latest four-year permit as a ‘bridge’ until it is able to secure a long-term permit. It is aiming to submit an application for a 30-year permit in 2023.

Morocco: Ciments du Maroc has officially started its 0.7Mt/yr Nador grinding plant in Oulad Settout. The new unit will be supplied with clinker from the integrated Ait Baha plant in Souss-Massa. It is intended to support the development of the north and east regions of the country. The project had a cost of around Euro84m.

Robert Dölger, the German ambassador, Zouhair Magour, the honorary consul of Germany, René Aldach, the chief financial officer of Heidelberg Materials, Hakan Gürdal, the head of Heidelberg Materials’ Africa-East Mediterranean Region, the president of the Oulad Settout region and various directors of Ciments du Maroc attended a ceremony marking the event on 9 December 2022.

The subsidiary of Heidelberg Materials operates three integrated plants, four grinding plants, four aggregate quarries and 21 ready-mix concrete plants in the country.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement’s shareholders have authorised a buyback of up to 10% of the company’s issued shares.

Chair Aliko Dangote said “Over the past decade, Dangote Cement has recorded exponential growth across all areas. Group cement volumes are now at almost 30Mt/yr, our production capacity has tripled to 51.6Mt/yr and we export cement from five countries across Africa.”

Saudi Arabia: Beumer Group has appointed V-Line Middle East to provide services for its customers in Saudi Arabia. Beumer Group said that the new partnership will help it to strengthen its focus on sales in the region.

Beumer Group’s director of sales André Tissen said “Our partnership will bring us closer to customers and strengthen our customer service in key industries. Through V-Line Middle East, we can offer our customers in Saudi Arabia access to a network of local specialised suppliers, augmenting our range of services.”

Austria: Lafarge Zement plans to invest Euro8m in the establishment of the Recycling Centre Mannersdorf at its 1.2Mt/yr Mannersdorf cement plant in Lower Austria. Niederösterreichische Nachrichten News has reported that the facility will process demolition waste into alternative raw materials for use in the cement producer’s operations.

Plant manager Helmut Reiterer said “The Recycling Centre Mannersdorf is of great importance for the construction industry. It enables people to build in a much more environmentally friendly way, increases the recycling rate and strengthens the domestic circular economy.”

India: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has named Adani Group subsidiary Ambuja Cements the winner in the Women Empowerment category of its Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2020 – 2021. During the period under consideration, the producer’s initiatives supported 2970 self-help groups and trained 31,000 women. It employed 9000 women in its operations.

Ambuja Cements says that it aims to help women in their role as breadwinners, changemakers and leaders in their communities.