Displaying items by tag: Debts

Belarus: The Belarusian government will acquire additional stakes in three cement companies in exchange for helping them to repay loans to China's Eximbank. The Council of Ministers has issued a directive that provides for restructuring the overdue debts incurred by Belarusian Cement Plant, Krychawtsementnashyfer and Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly as of 1 October 2014.

The three cement producers will receive the bailout on condition that they meet their profitability of sales targets for 2015 and fulfil their obligations to Eximbank starting 2015. Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly, Belarusian Cement Plant and Krychawtsementnashyfer owe US$34.4m, US$43.7m and US$50.6m to the Chinese bank, respectively, in overdue loan payments.

Armenia: Mika Cement has stopped production at its cement plant until February 2015. It reported to local media that it had produced the necessary volume of cement for sales and had now stopped for annual technical work. The company also said that it had paid the bulk of wage arrears and that the remaining debt will be paid before the end of 2014.

"The company repaid the biggest part of the arrears of wages to workers. In the period of the plant's suspension, the workers will be receiving salary in line with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia," said Mika Cement's press office.

Previously plant director Naira Martirosyan told Arminfo that the plant would produce 100,000t of cement by the end of 2014. The plant resumed production in September 2014 when salary and electric debts were settled. Production volumes at Mika Cement declined following the global economic recession in 2009. Although the company didn't publish financial results in 2013 its debt rose to over US$5.5m in 2012.

Mexico: Lafarge has announced plans to sell its 47% stake in its Mexican cement business to Mexico's Elementia SA de CV for US$225m in cash. Lafarge and Elementia operate three cement plants in Mexico, with the former owning 53% of their joint venture. The transaction is pending regulatory clearance and has to fulfil a number of customary closing conditions. Lafarge said that the proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce the company's net debt.

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV) has released a statement outlining its plans to refinance Euro969m of debt. In the short term, CPV is struggling to keep on top of maturing debt and has released a statement confirming that it has received the unanimous agreement of all of its creditors to extend the maturity of Euro50m of debt from 30 June 2014 to 30 September 2014.

Mexico: Cemex has announced that it is negotiating with a number of banks in order to refinance part of its outstanding bank debt as it seeks to further lower financial costs and extend its debt maturity.

In a regulatory filing ahead of a possible private bond placement, Cemex said it is in advanced talks with a group of banks aimed at reaching a new agreement by the end of October 2014. Proceeds would be used to refinance part of an existing financing agreement with banks.

Cemex refinanced around US$15bn in bank debt during the 2009 global crisis and in 2012, with around half of the amount left to pay, agreed to reschedule some US$6bn in 2014 principal payments to 2017. Cemex has since lowered that further and owes around US$4.3bn under the agreement, which is due in 2017.

Cemex said the current talks with banks are part of its strategy to improve its financial flexibility and lower its overall debt costs. Company officials said recently that Cemex's main priority is to recover the investment-grade ratings that it lost during the 2009 crisis.

India: Jaiprakash Associates plans to sell US$1.66bn worth of assets by 2015 to cut its debt, after divesting assets totalling US$2.46bn in the six months that ended on 31 March 2014.

Jaiprakash Associates plans to sell a thermal power plant, a cement plant, some of its real estate assets and a part of its stake in the Yamuna Expressway. It plans to exit its cement joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh and is in talks with Aditya Birla Group's Ultratech Cement Ltd. Jaiprakash Associates holds a 74% stake in the 2.2Mt/yr capacity cement plant.

A Jaiprakash Associates executive said that the current financial year will see more asset sales, which will ease pressure from banks to repay borrowings. Since September 2013, Jaiprakash Associates has sold assets valued at US$2.46bn, meeting its debt-reduction target for the fiscal year that ended on 31 March 31 2014.

Tajikistan: Tojikcement, Tajikistan's largest cement plant, has been accused of failing to replay US$2.5m to the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP), a Czech state-owned credit insurance company. However, the Tajikistan Ministry of Energy and Industries has announced that a Chinese firm has started preparations for a major upgrade costing US$7.73m.

Hana Hikelova, chair of the EGAP PR department, made the accusation and has been quoted by Asia Plus news agency. According to Hikelova, EGAP in insured a loan provided by the Czech Export Bank to Tojikcement for modernisation of the Dushanbe cement plant in 2006. According to a statement released by the Czech Embassy in Tashkent in February 2013, "The main problem of further development of Czech exports is the unsettled debt of Tojikcement."

Meanwhile, on 10 May 2013 the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) Secretariat announced that Beijing Uni-Construction Group had started preparations works at Tojikcement, to install a coal-fired rotary kiln. Eleven Chinese specialists are reportedly working in the plant in Dushanbe. The coal-firing kiln is expected to be delivered to Dushanbe in mid-June 2013 and the installation work is expected to be completed by mid-September 2013, an official source at a MoEI said. The total cost of the upgrade is US$7.73m, with US$150,000 provided by Tojikcement and the remainder by Beijing Uni-Construction Group.

Tojikcement, which has a cement production capacity of 1.1Mt/yr, is the largest cement producer in Tajikistan. The plant has not been operational since the beginning of 2013 due to a lack of natural gas supplies. Currently there are five cement plants operational in Tajikistan with a combined cement capacity of 1.3Mt/yr. In 2012, Tajikistan produced 235,000t, including 203,000t produced by Tojikcement.

South Africa: Pembani Group, an investment holding company, has become the controlling shareholder of South Africa's second-biggest cement producer, AfriSam, by way of a debt restructuring process. Following a debt restructuring process the Government Employees Pension Fund will hold about 57% of the company and Pembani 38%.

"The company's balance sheet was significantly strengthened by an overall debt reduction in excess of US$1.62bn. A consortium of local financial institutions provided the company with a sustainable long-term debt solution," said AfriSam CEO Stephan Olivier.

AfriSam was severely burdened by debt created by a leveraged buyout in 2007. It nearly defaulted on its debts in 2011. In 2012, all the relevant stakeholders agreed to a consensual restructuring of the debt, whereby the government Employees Pension Fund and Pembani Group injected significant equity into the business and Pembani would exercise strategic control over AfriSam's board.

Just before the end of 2012 Holcim sold shares in companies it owned in Thailand and Guatemala. It reduced its stake in Siam City Cement Company (SCCC) in Thailand from 36.8% to 27.5% and it sold its entire 20% minority stake in Cementos Progreso in Guatemala. For the sale of these two share packages Holcim received approximately Euro310m.

This is interesting given that Asia-Pacific was the Switzerland-based multinational's biggest sales area in 2011 and because sales of cement rose by 6% in Latin America in 2011. Similarly in 2012 from January to September the two regions propped up the group's profits. Why would Holcim sell stakes into two of its most profitable regions?

In its third quarter report in 2012 Holcim repeatedly described Thailand as 'encouraging' following floods in 2011. It added that it had focused increasingly on the cement market in the country and strengthened its position in neighbouring countries that resulted in lower clinker exports.

According to the Global Cement Directory 2013 SCCC has a capacity of 31Mt/yr, 65% of Thailand's total capacity of 48Mt/yr. SCCC predicted in December 2012 that domestic cement demand would increase by 5-10% in 2013. The company is currently planning to build new plants in Indonesia and Cambodia and is considering investing in Myanmar. In Indoniesia Holcim is the third biggest producer after Semen Gresik and HeidelbergCement subsidiary Indocement.

Meanwhile in Central America, Cementos Progreso was the sole producer in Guatemala with 2.5Mt/yr from two plants. This was set to double with the commissioning of a third plant towards the end of 2012. However, Holcim retains seven plants in southern Mexico (12Mt/yr), both of El Salvador's plants (2Mt/yr) and a plant in Costa Rica (1Mt/yr).

With Holcim's strong presence in Central America and the North American market reviving leaving Guatemala makes sense with the group's debt reduction programme in mind. The situation in Thailand is more complex, so unsurprisingly Holcim has reduced its stake rather than leaving completely. SCCC's expansion plans outside of Thailand suggest, that although growing, the market is maturing. In one such potential expansion target, Indonesia, Holcim is already a major producer.

In its press release announcing the sales in Thailand and Guatemala, Holcim attributed the decision to its ongoing debt reduction programme. As part of its 'Leadership Journey' the group intends to save Euro1.25bn by the end of 2014. Other savings in 2012 included reducing management in Europe, layoffs and closures in Australia, a plant closure in Hungary, further delays on the decision to build a new plant in New Zealand and layoffs in Spain. The management changes in Europe alone contributed a Euro99m chunk of Holcim's target saving of Euro124m for 2012.

Yet it's worth considering that a week after the sales of its shares Holcim's subsidiary in India, Ambuja Cements, announced investments of Euro277m in India. Perhaps the best way to save money is to make more money.

Vietnam: Vietnam's Finance Ministry has announced that it will spend US$30-40m/yr on settling foreign debts for local cement producers until 2018. State-owned producers Dong Banh, Thai Nguyen, Tam Diep and Hoang Mai all receive preferential interest rates for domestic loans and guarantees for foreign loans. The total debt of these four projects is US$229m.

According to the ministry's recent report to the prime minister, the total amount of government-guaranteed loans reached US$1.37bn in 2011. Hoang Mai and Tam Diep have been given capital to pay back their loans. However, Tam Diep has had difficulties paying back its debts. Dong Banh and Thai Nguyen, which have been advanced capital for their first period of payment, still have troubles dealing with their foreign debt.

The Dong Banh cement plant, which has a total investment of US$61.4m, was forced to close in the first quarter of 2012 after two years in operation and a loss of US$9.44m. By 2018 the plant's debts with interest could reach US$28.8m. The Thai Nguyen cement plant suffered a loss of US$3.69m after one year and was still running at below 60% of its capacity. It must operate from 80% capacity to earn a profit. As of March 2012 Ha Long cement plant had incurred debts of about US$58.3m. Although the company borrowed US$96m to pay its debts, the company's liabilities for the period of 2012-15 still amounted to US$57.5m.

According to the Vietnam National Cement Association, local cement makers are predicted to continue facing a lot of difficulties as the real estate market remained gloomy with few signs for recovery. Exports are not seen as an effective solution to the problem as local cement producers cannot lower prices of their products any more to compete with foreign rivals. Analysts predict that a cement surplus will persist if the government does not take drastic measures including a demand stimulus and a review of current cement projects.