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Uzbekistan puts Kyzilkumcement on sale 16 March 2016
Uzbeksitan: Uzbekistan has put on sale state shares in Kyzylkumcement. According to the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Privatization, Demonopolization and Development of Competition, the government wants to sell a 35.9% state shares or 160,658,567 shares in Kyzylkumcement for a total of over US$160m. Sales of the state-owned cement producer will be handled by the block-trading section of Uzbekistan Stock Exchange.
Kyzylkumcement was launched in 1977. It is the largest cement plant in Uzbekistan with a production capacity of 3.1Mt/yr.
Algeria: Cement production has resumed at the Société des Ciments Sour El-Ghozlane plant following maintenance work and an upgrade to add an electrostatic precipitator filter. The 1Mt/yr plant, a subsidiary of Buzzi Unicem, has been shut for nearly two months causing a shortage of cement in the central region of the country. This has led to some construction projects stalling and the cost of cement rising, according to El Watan.
Germany: The 14th REFRA-Kolloquium will take place on 31 May to 3 June 2016, at the Estrel Hotel & Convention Centre in Berlin. Industry experts and specialists will gather for a series of presentations on technical developments in the cement and refractory industries. The event will also include a panel discussion and a related exhibition.
The REFRA-Kolloquium events are organised by Refratechnik, a manufacturer of refractory materials for the cement industry. In 2012 almost 800 participants from 70 countries attended the REFRA-Kolloquium.
Colombia: Cementos Argos has launched energy saving measures that could contribute close to 10% of the energy saving goals of the Colombian national government. The cement producer has joined the energy savings campaign promoted by the government by taking additional measures at its plants and offices that can help conserve this important resource.
Cementos Argos intends to deliver excess energy from its self-generation plants of about 30MW to the domestic electrical network and limit the use of its 16 cement mills during peak hours, which will represent savings of about 38MW. In addition it will maximize its use of flexitime and day work to limit the use of electrical energy at its administrative offices. With these measures the company hopes to save the equivalent of the consumption of close to 100,000 homes per day and of close to 130,000 homes during peak hours.
“We are convinced that by joining our efforts, we can multiply results. That is why, if all companies and families put their best foot forward, we can all contribute to energy saving and create habits that allow us to preserve resources that are fundamental to our planet’s sustainability,” said Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Cementos Argos.
Russia: Eurocement and Sberbank CIB, Sberbank’s corporate and investment banking business have agreed on conditions for restructuring the company’s loan portfolio. The restructuring involves postponing the repayment of loans worth a total of US$592m and US$360m for up to six years, as well as optimising interest rates for the company’s loan portfolio at Sberbank.
“Sberbank CIB is a strategic partner of Eurocement. This agreement will help us cut debt servicing costs and minimise the influence of negative macroeconomic factors on our company,” commented Mikhail Skorokhod, President of Eurocement. The conditions for restructuring the debt portfolio will enable Eurocement to take a more flexible approach to financing its operational activities and help it achieve strategic goals.