Singapore/Namibia: International Cement Group (ICG) has extended the stop date of its agreement to buy Schwenk Namibia by six months to 31 January 2020. It follows the decision by the Singapore Exchange to block the proposed acquisition in June 2019 on the grounds that it did not meet the requirements for a ‘very substantial acquisition.’ ICG announced in March 2019 that it had arranged to buy a 100% stake in Schwenk Namibia for US$104m. Schwenk Namibia owns a 69.8% share of Ohorongo Cement.

US: Nine of Cemex USA’s ready-mixed concrete (RMX) plants in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California have earned ISO 14001:2015 certification for their environmental management systems (EMS). The company says these are the first RMX operations in the country to achieve the designation.

The nine plants located in Berkeley, Concord, Oakland, Pleasanton, San Carlos, San Francisco, San Jose, Union City and Santa Clara, California each received certification after Lloyd’s Register, an accredited third-party organisation, audited Cemex USA’s West Region management system at corporate and site level, verifying that it conforms to the standard. In addition to the plants, Cemex USA’s Livermore office also earned the certification.

“Effective environmental management systems are critical in helping our operations meet and exceed our environmental and sustainability goals. By following well-established standards of ISO 14001:2015, our operations can continue to build on their successes while serving as inspiring examples for others to follow across the US,” said Cemex USA president Ignacio Madridejos.

Earlier in 2010 Cemex’s Clinchfield cement plant in Georgia became the first Cemex operation in the US to achieve ISO 14001:2015 certification. The company is currently in the process of achieving the certification at several other of its operations in cement, ready-mix and aggregates across the country.

Colombia: Cemex Latam Holdings has denied that it has an office dedicated to illegal activity following accusations of bribery in the local media. In a statement to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, the company said that its Enterprise Risk Management office “supports the decision-making process by anticipating and coordinating risk management that could make it difficult for Cemex to reach its strategic objectives and identify short, medium and long-term opportunities.” It addd that risk management was an institutional process followed by companies around the world to anticipate and mitigate potential business hazards.

Cemex Colombia has been linked by Semana magazine and other outlets to payments to political figures in return for preferential treatment on construction contracts. The cement producer has also faced a long running investigation by local and US agencies into unusual payments relating to its Maceo cement plant project in Antioquia.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s divestments in Southeast Asia have coincided with a positive first half to 2019. Its net sales rose by 3.5% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis to Euro11.8bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro12bn in the same period in 2018. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 7.2% in real-terms to Euro2.41bn from Euro2.25bn. Its cement sales volumes rose slightly by 0.7% on a like-for-like basis to 104Mt and sales of ready-mixed concrete decreased by 2% to 23.6Mm³.

“We have achieved a strong first half of the year and successfully continued our profitable growth strategy. All business segments have contributed to this success and to the continued over-proportional growth in profitability,” said Jan Jenisch, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. The group attributed the growth to ‘successful’ pricing and growing cement volumes.