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Here we go! China-based Huaxin Cement delivered a one-two combo this week by first announcing that it had completed its acquisition of Lafarge Africa from Holcim and then revealing plans to amalgamate all of its overseas businesses into a single subsidiary. The first action feeds into the second but it’s a big move for the international ambitions of the company.

Global Cement Weekly has previously covered Huaxin Cement’s deal to buy Holcim’s majority stake in Lafarge Africa for US$1bn. After being announced in December 2024 the transaction was expected to close in 2025 subject to the usual regulatory approvals. However, various impediments emerged. In March 2025 local press reported that the Senate of Nigeria asked the Bureau of Public Procurement to scrutinise the sale on the grounds of national security and economic sovereignty. A Senate Committee on Capital Market then said in May 2025 that it was going to invite Lafarge Africa for questioning to ‘ensure shareholder rights and transparency of foreign dominance in Nigeria's cement industry.’ Local company and Lafarge Africa shareholder Strategic Consultancy then initiated a legal action to try and block the sale on the grounds that it was conducted secretly and without giving local shareholders the option to buy the shares themselves. These are just the issues that have made the local press. There may be more. The transaction officially closed on 29 August 2025 with Huaxin Cement paying around US$774m. Huaxin Cement is now the majority owner of Lafarge Africa with a 83% share.

Huaxin Cement’s decision to create a specific overseas subsidiary makes sense given the growing size of the business. Its stated aim is to fulfil the group’s “long-term strategic goal of building a world-leading multinational building materials company." The acquisition of Lafarge Africa is one big milestone along this path. In the group’s half-year report, also out this week, it said it had an overseas cement grinding capacity of 24.7Mt/yr with operations in 12 countries including Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Oman, South Africa, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The new company will make and sell cement, technical services, ready-mixed concrete and aggregates. Notably, it will also specialise in the co-processing of alternative fuels. That last one is mostly implicit in any modern cement enterprise these days but as thermal substitution rates rise in developing markets there are likely to be many battles for commodities and market share ahead. It says it wants to create a new overseas subsidiary in order to “further broaden financing channels, open up and integrate resources, and enhance the operational capabilities of Huaxin Cement.” The plans are reportedly at an early stage, but the new subsidiary will remain under the control of Huaxin Cement in China. The focus on finance also seems particularly important, as the company wants to use its new subsidiary to improve its competitiveness and flexibility in overseas capital markets to help it with financing and mergers and acquisitions. To this end, the new company will be listed on an overseas stock exchange. Hong Kong might be the first contender for that ‘overseas’ bourse with its differing economic and legal systems, whilst remaining firmly Chinese.

To finish, let’s compare the contrasting business strategies of Holcim and Huaxin Cement over the last decade. Lafarge and Holcim merged in 2015, later becoming Holcim as it is today. The company divested many of its assets around the world - including Lafarge Africa, diversified into building systems and spun-off its North American division into Amrize. Huaxin Cement became one of the biggest cement companies in the world as the Chinese sector peaked in the 2010s but has also developed into the leading Chinese cement company overseas. That business outside of China has helped Huaxin Cement to make profits in recent years despite the domestic industry declining in the 2020s. Today, many large-scale cement company divestments all over the world are often linked to Huaxin Cement. Its new overseas company, whatever it is called, is likely to become well known across the world.

Türkiye: Fatih Yücelik, the chair of the Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association (Türkçimento) and the CEO of Aşkale Çimento, has died at the age of 46. He was reportedly involved in a road traffic accident, according to the Hürriyet newspaper.

Yücelik worked as a senior executive in the construction sector. He was also the vice chair of the board of directors and chair of the executive board of Erçimsan Holding. He held a number of positions with non-governmental organisations, including that of Eastern Anatolian Honorary Consul to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, deputy chairman of the board of directors of Cement Industry Employers' Union (ÇEİS) and as a board member of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).

Portugal: Cimpor has appointed Pedro Reis as its vice chair. He will "support the company's growth strategy across multiple markets and business segments, strengthening its position as a global leader in the cement and construction materials sector," according to the Correio da Manhã newspaper.

Reis previously worked as the Minister for the Economy from 2024 to mid-2025 under the administration of the so-called Democratic Alliance. Notably roles in his career include working as the chair at AICEP, the Portuguese Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment, from 2011 to 2014. He then worked in banking for BCP Group from 2014 to 2021, becoming Head of Institutional Banking at Millennium BCP in 2019. Reis is a graduate of the Católica Portuguesa University and the Harvard Business School.

Oman: Raysut Cement has appointed Khalid Ramis as the General Manager of its Salalah plant and Raashid Ali as its Group Chief Financial Officer.

Khalid Ramis holds over 30 years of experience in the bank, finance and cement industries. He has worked for Raysut Cement since 2019. Before this he held positions with Bank Muscat and BankDhofar.

Raashid Ali holds over 30 years of financial experience in the automative, facilities management, real estate and retail sectors. He has held senior roles at DAMAC, Jumeirah International and Renaissance. He is a chartered accountant.

UK: Cement production dropped to 7.3Mt in 2024, the lowest level since 1950 and around 50% of 1990 volumes, according to the Mineral Products Association (MPA). Imports have nearly tripled over the past 20 years, rising from 12% of sales in 2008 to 32% in 2024, leaving supply chains more dependent on volatile international markets.

Diana Casey, executive director for cement and lime at the MPA, said “We’re calling on the government to help put domestic production on a level playing field so that it can compete fairly with imports. The UK has a choice: to build these vital development projects with UK-made cement, or to build them with imports – sending jobs, investment and economic growth overseas.”

The MPA said that high energy, regulatory and labour costs are threatening competitiveness and jobs, with 40% of cement produced in the Peak District and 60% across the rest of the UK. The group said the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) due in 2027 must be paired with a procurement policy that prioritises domestic cement.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies recorded revenues of €3.5m in the first half of 2025, up by 8% year-on-year, driven by increased cement sales volumes. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were -€5.7m, down from -€3.1m in the first half of 2024. Net income stood at -€8.4m, compared to -€5.0m in the first half of 2024, following higher depreciation and amortisation charges.

Production reached 19,640t, more than 2.5 times the 7833t produced in the first half of 2024, already exceeding total 2024 volumes. Cement was supplied to over 130 sites nationwide, producing more than 60,000m³ of clinker-free concrete delivered by 10,000 truck mixers. The company targets 50,000t of cement sold by the end of 2025 and positive EBITDA, subject to the signing of new licensing agreements.

Co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said “The first half of 2025 was characterised by a significant increase in our production volumes. Unlike the first half of 2024, during which we received a €2m entry fee from our American partner, all of our half-yearly revenue for 2025 is generated from cement sales, reflecting its growing adoption within the construction sector. Finally, we reiterate all of our objectives for 2030 and are targeting sales of 50,000t by the end of 2025, with the second half of the year traditionally being more favourable to the company's activity.”

Belarus: Construction materials producer Krasnoselskstroymaterialy (Grodno Oblast) plans to begin production of fibre cement boards, according to CEO Alexander Golda. He said “We are currently working on a new type of product – fibre cement boards – and have already prepared an initial business plan. Our cement will account for more than 80% of the composition of this product.”

Golda added that the company is working to increase output and replace materials such as silicate bricks, which are becoming obsolete on the market.

Dominican Republic: Cement and clinker exports totalled US$72.5m in the first half of 2025, a 37% rise year-on-year, according to cement exporter Despradel & Asociados (DASA) and the Dominican Association of Portland Cement Producers (Adocem). Haiti was the main market, with US$39.6m of exports, followed by Jamaica (US$9.4m), Guyana (US$8.3m), Turks and Caicos Islands (US$6.0m), Suriname (US$2.3m) and the US (US$1.2m).

Pakistan: Cement despatches, including exports, reached 3.85Mt in August 2025, a 12% year-on-year increase from 3.42Mt in August 2024, according to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Local despatches grew by 10% to 3.10Mt from 28Mt, while exports rose by 22% to 0.75Mt from 0.6Mt previously.

In the first two months of the 2025–26 financial year, total despatches rose by 21% to 7.85Mt from 6.49Mt a year earlier. Domestic despatches grew by 14% to 6.09Mt, while exports climbed by 51% to 1.76Mt.

The APCMA noted that August growth was slower than in July 2025, when domestic despatches rose by 19% and exports rose by 84% year-on-year.

China: Huaxin Cement is planning to consolidate all overseas production and operating assets into a new subsidiary, which it intends to list on an overseas stock exchange, according to a company announcement made on 31 August 2025. The proposed spin-off, which is still at a preliminary stage, reportedly aims to broaden financing channels, integrate resources and strengthen the company’s global operations.

Huaxin Cement said the restructuring will not affect its control over the overseas assets, with the new entity remaining a controlled subsidiary in its consolidated financial statements. The company said the move supports its long-term goal of becoming a 'globally leading multinational corporation in the building materials industry.'

The announcement comes just two days after the completed divestment of Holcim’s stake in Lafarge Africa to Huaxin Cement for US$1bn.