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Malawi drops ban on imported cement 22 March 2016
Malawi: Malawi has relaxed its ban on importing cement, to prevent local consumers being exploited. The price of cement in the southern region where cement is produced locally is higher than the central region where cement is imported from Zambia. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued licenses to some importers to enhance competition on the market, according to All Africa.
"The ministry will always commit itself to fight smuggling and give strong support to all stakeholders such as Malawi Revenue Authority and the Malawi Police Service in this fight," said Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson, Wiskes Mkombezi. The ministry is encouraging importers to pay import duty and has asked the public to help combat smugglers. The country introduced licenses for cement importers in early 2000 to regulate the local market and promote the local industry.
Rwanda: PPC says its 600,000t/yr Cimerwa cement plant in Bugarama, Rusizi will reach full production by mid-2018. The greenfield plant is part of its strategy to make 40% of its turnover from outside of South Africa by 2018, according to Business Daily. At present the plant is running at about 60% of its production capacity.
Cimerwa sales volumes have exceeded 100,000t from commissioning to February 2016. Further sales, marketing, and distribution efforts are expected to improve this. The plant sells cement domestically in Kigali and it exports to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
PPC is growing cement production capacity in Africa with plants being built in the DRC, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Capacity is expected to reach 12.7Mt/yr in 2018 from 8.6Mt/yr in 2015.
South Korea: Eugene Group intends to increase its stake in Tongyang up to 25%. The South Korean conglomerate has expressed its interest in leading Tongyang, including its cement subsidiary, according to Maeil Business.
“Tongyang has tens of thousands of shareholders without a significant major shareholder after its workout program,” said Chung Jin-hak, head in charge of construction materials unit of Eugene Group. “As of late last year, among 34,000 shareholders, only four companies including Eugene Group and Pine Tree Investment and Management own more than 1% stake each.”
Tongyang’s largest shareholder Eugene Group holds a 10.01% stake in the company, followed by the 9.74% owned by Pine Tree Investment and Management. Eugene Group plans to buy shares through all possible measures such as purchasing shares directly from major shareholders, in a block trade or in the market. Eugene Group has highlighted potential synergies between its own concrete business and Tongyang.
Grupo Corripio buys Cementos Andino Dominicanos 21 March 2016
Dominican Republic: Grupo Corripio has acquired the majority of the shares of Cementos Andino Dominicanos in Cabo Rojo, according to the country’s President Danilo Medina. The previous owners will retain a stake in the company.
All current employees will receive their wages in the first two weeks of April 2016. In addition, between 300 and 400 new jobs will be created. Dominican business José Luis Corripio Estrada and owner of Grupo Corripio added that it will increase the company’s cement production capacity and potentially increase the number of workers to 700.
US: The GCC (Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua) Dacotah cement plant in Rapid City has started a US$90m upgrade. The project will include new kiln equipment, provision for co-processing alternative fuels and improvements to the plant’s shipping operations, according to the Rapid City Journal. The upgrade will increase the plant’s cement production capacity to 1.3Mt/yr.
The plant was founded by the South Dakota state in the 1920s and sold into private ownership in 2001. It employs 130 full-time employees. The upgrade is expected to create 13 new full-time jobs.