Nigeria: Dangote Cement has appointed Onne van der Weijde as CEO, effective from 1 February 2015. Van der Weijde, ex-Holcim India head, will take the helm from Dangote Cement's Devakumar Edwin.

On 15 January 2015, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned the Euro1.20 cap on the Swiss Franc. The effects of the decision were immediate, with the value of a Franc dropping from Euro1.20 to just Euro0.99. The decision caused turmoil for currency brokers and big business in Switzerland's normally bullet-proof finance sector, with some brokers out of business by the end of the same day.

It is not hard to see why these brokers were caught out by the sudden change in the SNB's position. On 18 December 2014 Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the SNB's Governing Board, stated in no uncertain terms that, "The SNB remains committed to purchasing unlimited quantities of foreign currency to enforce the minimum exchange rate with the utmost determination." In research conducted by Bloomberg News on 9 - 14 January 2015, not one of 22 economists questioned expected the SNB to abandon the cap in 2015. That's quite an about-turn by the SNB in less than a month.

The decision to 'scrap-the-cap' shows the potential of outside influences to suddenly unseat even the most secure of businesses. Such companies include Holcim, the share-price of which went on a rollercoaster on the SIX Swiss Exchange in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. At one point on 15 January 2015 Holcim had lost 20% of its value before closing 11% down on the day. It has since recovered somewhat, although a whopping Euro3bn of its capital has been swallowed up due to the plummeting Franc.

Following the sudden changes to its circumstances, Holcim immediately reinforced its commitment to its merger with Lafarge. "Regarding a possible impact on the combination with Lafarge, what we can say is that we remain committed to the merger," said spokesman Eike-Christian Meuter. There was an almost simultaneous reciprocal statement from the French producer, also stating its commitment. No change there then.

The calmness of Holcim's statements was broadly in line with commentary from bankers, which stated that large deals were unlikely to be affected by the change. This is because Swiss firms can insure themselves against the effects of such moves. Another 'get-out of jail free card' could have been a material adverse change (MAC) clause. If in place a MAC would allow the merging parties to terminate a transaction if an external event significantly changes the outlines of the deal. It is not possible to know whether Lafarge and Holcim have such a clause due to confidentiality issues.

Despite the fundamentals of the LafargeHolcim merger appearing to be unaffected, the scrapping of the Franc cap is an excellent example of how external policy makers can have a direct and unexpected impact on the underlying conditions of the global cement industry. Another major external influence at present is the low oil price, mainly affected by the oil producing cartel OPEC. HeidelbergCement said this week that it expects the oil price fall to have a positive impact on its profit in 2015. It makes 80% of its revenue in oil-importing countries, which should see reduced transport and production costs. This will result in improved economic conditions, higher levels of construction and hence cement production. For HeidelbergCement 2015 could be a case of costs down, sales up.

That surely sounds like good news, for some stagnant 'old' developed economies at least. However, in the world of 'new normals' it is the IMF that has sounded the biggest warning this week. It dropped its 2015 global economic growth forecast from 3.8% to 3.5%. As fuel prices slump, so too has inflation. In the EU this has resulted in deflationary pressures that could yet stump the recovery. Consumers (and construction firms alike) may go from a position of not being able to afford things, to not wanting to buy them. In the longer term, this may be yet more bad news for the cement sector in established markets.

South Africa: The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has appointed Seana Nkhahle from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) as its new Chairman. Nkhahle takes over the reins from long-time Chairman Bruce Kerswill, who played a leading role in the formation of the council.

The GBCSA was established in 2007 to promote green building development in the country. It is a member of the World Green Building Council (World GBC) and is today one of the most active councils worldwide.

Nkhahle is an Executive Director at SALGA, responsible for 'Corporate Strategy and Research.' Prior to this, he was the Executive Manager and National Programmes Co-ordinator at the South African Cities Network from 2005 to 2009. In 2004, Nkhahle received a recognition award issued jointly by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction.

If you ever visit Lima be sure to try the wonton soup! One of the surprises of the Peruvian capital is the large number of Chinese restaurants. Peru has one of the largest proportions of inhabitants of Chinese-descent in Latin America. This adds a spoonful of historical context to this week's news of China's Jidong Development Group's intentions to buy Cementos Interoceanicos. It is one of a few stories affirming Peru's growth in recent years, although this trend may be changing.

The major Chinese producer is acquiring a cement plant with mineral rights that was first proposed in 2008. Originally the 1.6Mt/yr plant was budgeted at US$250m with construction set to start in 2009 and production intended to start in early 2011. At the time company executive director Armando Belfiore told local press that reserves of 700Mt of limestone and 390Mt of pozzolan exist in the Macusani, Ajoyani and Potoni districts in the Carabaya province of Puno. Subsequent plans were to develop lime and calcium carbide also. However, at present the project still appears to be in the development phase. No doubt Chinese money will be very welcome.

Meanwhile Peru's local producers have steadily been making their own progress towards becoming regional players in their own right. In December 2014 Union Andina de Cementos (Unacem) completed its purchase of Lafarge's cement assets in Ecuador. The US$517m deal included a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant in Otavalo. This followed Holding Cementero del Peru, a subsidiary of Gloria which operates Cementos Yura, paying US$300m to buy up to 98.4% in Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce), Bolivia's largest cement producer. Media analysts have predicted that Cementos Pacasmayo is also likely to expand internationally once it has finished its local projects.

Internally, each of the major Peruvian cement producers has its own projects. Unacem is investing US$374m on its Atocongo and Condorcocha plants between 2014 and 2018, with a focus on the cement mill, the development of the Carpapata III hydroelectricity project and the construction of bagging facilities in Condorcocha. Cementos Yura targeted US$50m towards machinery and equipment at its Yura plant near Arequipa. Cementos Pacasmayo's new US$385m cement plant at Piura is due to start operation in the second half of 2015. The new plant in northwest Peru will have a production capacity of 1.6Mt/yr of cement and 1Mt/yr of clinker.

Cement production in Peru has slowed since 2012 when the country saw production rise by 16% year-on-year to 9.85Mt. 2013 saw production rise by 6% to 10.5Mt. Currently released figures from the association of cement manufacturers in Peru (Asocem) to November 2014 suggest that this growth has continued to fall to 1.5% year-on-year.

Cementos Pacasmayo reported in its third quarter report for 2014 that the Peruvian economy had experienced a slowdown during the first nine months of the year although it was expected to recover in the final quarter and beyond due to impending infrastructure projects and spending. Given Peru's continued growth in gross domestic product (GDP), Jidong, Pacasmayo and Peru's other cement producers could do worse than order a nice bowl of wonton soup while they wait and see what happens.

US: Continental Building Products (CBP) has appointed James 'Jay' Bachmann to the position of president and CEO, effective immediately. Bachmann has served as interim CEO since November 2014 and CFO since January 2014. He will continue to serve as CFO in an interim role, pending the appointment of a permanent CFO.

CBP has also announced the appointment of Dennis Romps to the position of chief accounting officer (CAO). Romps will also continue to serve as senior vice president and corporate controller, positions he has held since January 2014.

Bachmann formerly served as CFO at Lafarge USA and co-chief financial officer of Lafarge North America from November 2012 through December 2013. He also held multiple executive responsibilities at Lafarge since 2002, including senior vice president of finance (Investor Relations) of Lafarge SA from January 2008 through October 2012 and senior vice president and controller of Lafarge North America from November 2005 to June 2006. Prior to Lafarge, he worked at Arthur Anderson from September 1990 to April 2002.

Romps previously served as CBP's CFO from August 2013 to December 2013. He formerly served as co-chief financial officer of Lafarge North America from December 2006 until August 2013, while also holding a variety of vice president positions in finance, IT and supply chain of the gypsum division of Lafarge North America from 2005 until August 2013.

India: Osvaldo Ayres Filho has resigned as a director from Shree Digvijay Cement Company. His resignation was effective from the close of business on 13 January 2015.

The end of 2014 proved a good time to tidy up outstanding business for various organisations with links to the cement industry. Lafarge and Holcim received clearance from the European Commission for their proposed merger and they announced their executive committee, Holcim and Cemex concluded their transactions in Europe, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced regulations for coal ash, HeidelbergCement found a buyer for its Hanson Building Products business and even PPC managed to appoint a new CEO.

The HeidelbergCement sale is of interest because the company has said it is using the proceeds to pay off debt rather than to make purchases. CEO Bernd Scheifele said in the press release that the intention was to improve the company's 'credit-worthiness.' This isn't directly related to the cement industry because Hanson Building Products produces concrete gravity pipe, concrete and steel pressure pipe and clay bricks in the US, UK and eastern Canada. Yet the potential cash bonanza is relevant. Remember, this is happening at the same time that Lafarge and Holcim have been offloading lots of their own assets to meet competition regulations in various territories.

When the initial public offering was made for Hanson Building Products in September 2014, analysts assumed that HeidelbergCement was positioning itself for a spending spree. The purchase price for Hanson Building Products agreed with a private equity firm was US$1.4bn. This could be used to buy five 1 Mt/yr cement plants at an average price of US$250/t for cement production capacity!

Unfortunately for HeidelbergCement its net debt rose from Euro7bn in 2012 to Euro7.5bn in 2013. This was the first time it had risen since 2007 when it hit a peak of Euro14.6bn. That year was when it agreed to purchase Hanson. It also marked the start of the 2007 – 2008 financial crisis. Similarly, ratios such as net debt to operating income before depreciation (OIBD) also rose in 2013. Although it looks from interim financial reports that HeidelbergCement's debt may have decreased again in 2014, it is probably not doing so at any great speed. Hence the Hanson Building Products sale.

For comparison with debt held by the other European-based cement producers, Lafarge's net debt stood at Euro10.3bn at the end of 2013, Holcim's net debt was Euro7.9bn, Italcementi's net debt was Euro1.9bn and Mexico-based Cemex's net debt was Euro14.8bn. Compared to most of these their operating incomes these company's have net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) ratios (net debt/EBITDA) of between two and three-and-a half suggesting that they can pay back their debts within a few years if absolutely necessary. The outlier here is Cemex with a ratio of over six following previous acquisition bursts.

The implication here is that Lafarge and Holcim have chosen to sell their wares at a time when their European competitors are weakened. Meanwhile their Chinese competitors have only just started to directly expand outside of mainland China. Smart move.

France/Switzerland: Holcim and Lafarge have announced the executive committee for the proposed merged company, LafargeHolcim, due to be formed in the first half of 2015. As previously announced, Lafarge's current CEO Bruno Lafont will become LafargeHolcim's first CEO and the chairman of the new board will be Wolfgang Reitzle, currently chairman of Holcim.

Lafont will lead a project team of 10 managers from both Holcim and Lafarge to handle the transition. Once the merger is finalised, the members of this project team will be officially appointed members of the Executive Committee.

The future executive committee is composed of:

• Finance: Thomas Aebischer, currently in charge of Finance at Holcim;
• Integration, Organisation and Human Resources: Jean-Jacques Gauthier, currently in charge of Finance at Lafarge;
• Europe: Roland Köhler, currently in charge of Europe at Holcim;
• Asia Pacific: Ian Thackwray, currently in charge of East Asia Pacific and Trading at Holcim;
• Middle-East Africa: Eric Olsen, currently in charge of Operations at Lafarge;
• North America: Alain Bourguignon, previously in charge of North America and UK at Holcim;
• Latin America: Saâd Sebbar, currently in charge of Morocco at Lafarge;
• Performance and Cost: Urs Bleisch, currently in charge of Corporate Functions at Holcim;
• Growth and Innovation: Gérard Kuperfarb, currently in charge of Innovation at Lafarge;

In India both companies are well on track in preparing the merger of Holcim and Lafarge, with the future structure for the subcontinent to be announced in due course upon clearance by the Competition Commission of India.

The current executive committees of Holcim and Lafarge remain in charge and accountable for the activity and operations of their respective groups until completion of the merger. Both groups continue to operate entirely separately as competitors until the merger is completed.

The selection and nomination process for the rest of the leadership team is also well underway. Apart from the future executive committee, the following direct reports of the future CEO have been selected under project mode:

• Strategy and M&A, Christof Haessig, currently in charge of Corporate Finance and Treasury at Holcim;
• Communication, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, Alexandra Rocca, currently in charge of Communication, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development at Lafarge;
• Legal, Xavier Dedullen, currently in charge of Legal & Compliance at Holcim;
• Health and Safety, Sapna Sood, currently in charge of Health and Safety at Lafarge.

Saudi Arabia: The boards of directors at the Arabian Cement Company has approved the appointment of Abdullah Mohammed al-Eissa as board chairman, with a three-year term starting from 1 January 2015.

In early December 2014, the company elected a new board of directors. The other newly-elected board members are Ghassan al-Souleiman, Saud al-Souleiman, Adel al-Zaid, Ibrahim al-Rajhi, Ibrahim Aba al-Khail, Sami Baroum, Mu'taz al-Azawi and Alwaleed al-Dareean

Saudi Arabia: The management board of Tabuk Cement Company has appointed Ali al-Asmari as director general, effective as of 1 January 2015. Al-Asmari, who joined Tabuk Cement in 1996, has held various positions within the company's management, including head of quarries, factory director and deputy director general.