Displaying items by tag: India

India: The Supreme Court has ordered the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to adjudicate upon all issues relating to the Binani Cement insolvency case, including whether Ultratech Cement’s bid for the company is eligible. The case will be heard by the appeals tribunal from mid-July 2018, according to the Mint newspaper. The NCLAT is the body that processes appeals from the National Company Law Tribunal, a legal body that adjudicates disputes between companies.

UltraTech Cement made a direct bid of US$1.12bn for the bankrupt Binani Cement following an auction in March 2018 that was originally won by Dalmia Bharat. Dalmia Bharat has disputed UltraTech Cement’s offer and the two companies have conducted legal campaigns to reinforce their respective claims.

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned a 1.75Mt/yr grinding unit at its Manawar plant in Dhar District, Madhya Pradesh. The main part of the 2.5Mt/yr integrated plant was commissioned in April 2018. A 13MW waste heat recovery unit is also being built at the site.

India: Shree Cement has commissioned the cement grinding mill at its Kodla cement plant in Karnataka. The mill has a cement production capacity of 3Mt/yr. The new integrated plant was proposed in early 2017 with a clinker production capacity of 2.8Mt/yr. It had an investment of US$260m and was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018.

India: LafargeHolcim’s subsidiary ACC is in talks to buy Jaiprakash Associates’ remaining cement business. It plans to buy the production capacity of 5.5Mt/yr for US$763m by mid-2018, according to sources quoted by the Economic Times newspaper. Jaiprakash Associates is selling the last parts of its former cement assets to reduce its debts.

The proposed deal includes plants in central India with clinker production capacity of 4.4Mt/yr and a cement grinding capacity of about 3.3Mt/yr, the company's 74% stake in Bhilai Jaypee Cement, a joint venture with Steel Authority of India, and the Nigrie grinding plant.

Jaiprakash Associates previously agreed to sell three cement plants to Orient Cement in mid-2017 but this deal was cancelled after a delay of one year. Prior to this the company sold six integrated cement plants and five grinding plants to UltraTech Cement for US$2.5bn in 2017. Following the sale of its remaining cement assets, the company will primarily an engineering, procurement and construction contractor in road and hydroelectric power.

India: The Kerala High Court is investigating how files have disappeared from its premises regarding a corruption case into Malabar Cement. The files were part of a 2015 petition, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged instances of corruption in the cement producer, according to the Press Trust of India. Justice B Sudheendra Kumar described the situation as ‘alarming.’

In early 2017 the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, a corruption body in the state of Kerala, arrested Prakash Joseph, a legal officer at Malabar Cements, in relation to a loss of US$0.4m. Previous to this in mid-2016 the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested K Padmakumar, the managing director of Malabar Cements, on charges of corruption and irregularity.

India: UltraTech Cement’s costs are growing over its offer to buy Binani Cement. A legal counsel in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) told the Business Standard newspaper that the subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group is liable to pay lenders around US$0.22m/day in additional interest until the takeover is completed. Any decision made by the NCLT will still have to go before the Supreme Court further delaying the process.

UltraTech Cement made a direct bid of US$1.12bn for the bankrupt Binani Cement following an auction in March 2018 that was originally won by Dalmia Bharat. However, Dalmia Bharat’s offer did not include paying interest to lenders. Binani Cement’s insolvency resolution process has overrun its 270-day time frame by nearly two months.

India: ACC forecasts that demand for cement will grow by up to 7% in 2018. However, intense competition and insufficient consumption will lead to excess capacity it added, according to the Press Trust of India. Demand is expected to benefit from government-based infrastructure projects, rural development and affordable housing schemes.

Around 66% of ACC’s cement demand came from the housing sector, followed by infrastructure with 18% and 16% from the commercial sector. The country has a total cement production capacity of 465Mt/yr but it is only producing 305Mt/yr, giving it an utilisation rate of 66%. Cement plants in the south of the country are pulling the rate down compared to northern, central and eastern regions. Excess capacity is expected to continue until 2019, with the increased outlays on housing, infrastructure development and agricultural sector initiatives.

India: The Singareni Thermal Power Plant based in Pegadapalli in Telangana is supplying around 4000t/day of fly ash to local cement producers including Orient Cement, Kesoram Cement and others companies. The 1200MW coal power is part of the Singareni Collieries Company, according to the Hindu newspaper. The management of the plant believes that they achieved a record in 2017 – 18 by utilising over 91% of the fly and bottom ash generated by the power plant.

India: My Home Industries is preparing to increase its cement production capacity by 50% to 15Mt/yr. At present the cement producer produces 10Mt/yr of cement from four plants, according to The Hindu newspaper. The company’s board is currently considering whether to build a new plant or expand an existing one. A final decision is expected in mid-June 2018.

India: JSW Cement has inaugurated a 6.5km railway siding to its 2.4Mt/yr Salboni cement grinding plant in West Bengal. The railway siding will connect the unit to the main railway line between Godapiasal and Salboni, according to the Economic Times newspaper. The new connection is expected to reduce logistics costs at the site.

The rail yard at the plant has five lines running parallel and connected to each other. Two lines are designated for receiving raw materials, two lines are dedicated for cement loading and the fifth line is reserved for engine reversal. The plant initially intends to receive two rakes of raw materials per day and one rake per day of cement for despatch.