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India: Overseas investments or the outward foreign direct investment by Indian companies more than halved to US$1.24bn in September 2015, according to media reports. This compared to US$3.12bn in September 2014. In August 2015, the outward foreign direct investment by Indian companies stood at US$2.19bn.
Out of the total US$1.24bn invested abroad, some US$137m was invested in equity, US$366m through loans and US$738m in the form of issue of guarantee. Major investors overseas during the month included Ultratech Cement in the Middle East (US$234m), Tata Power in Singapore (US$90m) and Tata Communications in Singapore (US$67.9m).
Chairman to remain at China Shanshui Cement following vote
Written by Global Cement staff
14 October 2015
China: Shareholders of China Shanshui Cement have voted to keep Chairman Zhang Bin at a meeting on 13 October 2015 amid a fight for control of the nation's seventh-largest cement maker that has been ongoing since April 2015.
China Shanshui Cement held an extraordinary general meeting during which a proposal from its largest shareholder, Tianrui International Holding Co, to get rid of Zhang was rejected after receiving a 99.9% no vote. Tianrui International, which has a 28.16% interest, has been trying to change Shanshui's management and had another failed attempt in July 2015.
Shareholder clashes may become more common in China as President Xi Jinping encourages the culling of weaker companies in industries that are grappling with overcapacity. Two of Shanshui's other shareholders, China National Building Material Co and Taiwan's Asia Cement, which combined hold 37.6%, said in September 2015 that they will make a joint conditional cash offer to acquire all the outstanding shares they don't already control. The duo reiterated on 9 October 2015 they're still considering that course of action.
China Shanshui Cement had also initially called the extraordinary general meeting to vote on the appointment of Li Liufa, a founder of China Tianrui Group Cement Co, as Chairman of China Shanshui Cement. But China Shanshui Cement said on 12 October 2015 that it hasn't yet received a notice regarding that, making the proposed appointment no longer applicable.
Shareholders voted 95.1% in support of the removal of Zhang Caikui, Zhang Bin's father, as an Executive Director at the 13 October 2015 meeting. Li Cheung Hung and Wu Xiaoyun also had 99.9% of votes cast for their removal. Li was the Joint Company Secretary of China Shanshui Cement while Wu is a professor of the University of Nankai.
Russia: Eurocement's Akhangarancement plant produced 164,000t of cement and 127,205t of clinker in August 2015, 2.5% and 12.2% year-on-year rises respectively. The plant shipped 164,863t of cement to in August 2015, a 1.2% year-on-year rise.
The most popular types of cement in August 2015 were PC 400-D20 (Portland cement of grade 400 with active mineral additives accounting for more than 5 - 20%, SPC 400 (Slag Portland cement of grade 400 with active mineral additives accounting for 20 - 80%), PC 400-KD20 (Portland cement of grade 400 with composite additives accounting for 10 - 20%). The share of these types of cement was 91.8%, up from 75.1% in August 2014.
Raysut Cement’s third quarter net profit falls by 8.5% 13 October 2015
Oman: Raysut Cement has reported an 8.5% decrease in its net profit in the third quarter of 2015, according to Reuters. The company made US$12.6m in the three months that ended on 30 September 2015, compared with US$13.7m in the same period of 2014. Two analysts polled by Reuters have forecast that Raysut Cement would make a quarterly net profit of US$10.9 – 11.1m.
Eurocement President inspects Leningrad region plants 13 October 2015
Russia: Eurocement President Mikhail Skorokhod visited several key cement plants in the Leningrad region recently.
Key performance indicators of Peterburgcement were evaluated positively at the end of August 2015. "The company shows strong growth and consistently high product quality. This is the result of the work of a highly professional close-knit team. Today, the team is facing new tasks and new challenges and it is planned to reach the historical record and produce 1.86Mt of cement in 2016," said Mikhail Skorokhod. Reducing costs and consistently high product quality, according to Skorokhod, will allow Peterburgcement to increase its market share in the Leningrad and neighbouring areas and reduce imports of inferior quality cement from neighbouring countries.
During his visit, Skorokhod appointed Dmitry Zibaev as the new Peterburgcement plant CEO. Skorokhod said that Dmitry Zibaev has considerable experience in the industry and in-depth knowledge of all processes of cement production. Dmitry Zibaev graduated from Belgorod State University of Technology. He started his career as a Maintenance Foreman in Lafarge Cement. He moved from Mechanical Engineer to the Deputy General Director of Peterburgcement.
Skorokhod also inspected the production process at Pikalevskiy Cement plant during his visit to the Leningrad region. He set the task to increase control over the quality of clinker. "Pikalevskiy Cement has high trust and reputation among customers and clients. The plant staff should not only meet the customers' expectations, but also raise the bar," said Skorokhod. He expressed the view that the decision taken recently by the Russian Government to introduce mandatory certification of cement will set the barrier to low-quality and counterfeit basic construction material and it will lead to higher work level of the plant. Technical Engineers of Pikalevskiy Cement have improved the clinker quality in recent months. Talking about the construction of a new dry line at the plant, Skorokhod said that the company intends to consistently implement its modernisation programme at its plants.