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Protest against Semen Indonesia Rembang cement plant 17 April 2015
Indonesia: Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner Bambang Widjojanto joined a protest on 16 April 2015 against the construction of Semen Indonesia's new cement plant in Rembang, Central Java. However, the Semarang State Administrative Court (PTUN) ruled on the same day that PT Semen Indonesia could operate in the area.
Bambang said that the construction and operation of the cement plant could pose a threat to the ecosystem in the region. The former KPK commissioner joined the rally in front of the PTUN, which is currently holding a trial on the legality of the local government's decision to allow PT Semen Indonesia to start mining activities in the area. "We hope that the judges listen to their consciences and side with the people," said Bambang.
Residents of Rembang, Central Java, have staged a series of rallies since 2014, protesting the plan to build a cement plant in Watu Putih. They claim that a plant would impact nearby water resources and directly degrade their livelihoods. The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), an environmental non-government organisation (NGO) that has assisted the locals, has estimated that the potential loss of water could reach 51ML.
Semen Indonesia to acquire second Vietnamese cement firm 17 April 2015
Vietnam: The Indonesian state-owned cement manufacturer Semen Indonesia plans to acquire a second Vietnamese cement company.
Semen Indonesia's finance director Ahyanizzaman said that the company has allocated a total capital expenditure of US$546 – 857m in 2015 to expand its operations, which includes the acquisition of the Vietnamese company. He said that the company was currently conducting a due diligence audit on the Vietnamese firm and that this was expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2015. "The Vietnamese company is a private firm, which has a local market share of about 4%," said Ahyanizzaman.
If Semen Indonesia goes ahead with the acquisition, it will be its second subsidiary in Vietnam. Through its Vietnamese subsidiary Thang Long Cement Company, it produces about 2.5Mt/yr a year in the country. Ahyanizzaman said the company would borrow up to US$77.9m to support the expansion plan.
Semen Indonesia president director Suparni said that the acquisition plan was part of the company's strategy to take advantage of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which would be implemented before the end of 2015. "Domestic and regional operations cannot be separated when the AEC is implemented, so we want to synergise our business," said Suparni.
Spain: Cementos Portland, a subsidiary of Spanish builder FCC, saw its loss grow by 21.2% year-on-year to Euro29.5m during the first three months of 2015.
The company boosted its revenue by 9.4% year-on-year to Euro122m, while its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) slumped by 59.9% to Euro6.3m. Cementos Portland attributed its negative results to a reduction in CO2 emission sales on the secondary market and its new accounting procedures concerning costs generated by the annual renovation of its cement plants.
Should the aforementioned effects be neglected, Cementos Portland would have boosted its results by some Euro7m for the period to a loss of Euro25.7m, versus Euro32.7m a year earlier.
McInnis Cement warehouse for New York 17 April 2015
US/Candada: Montreal-based McInnis Cement plans to build a US$40m distribution warehouse along the East River in the Bronx, New York, in the hopes of reducing truck traffic in the borough as well as developing its waterfront, according to local media.
McInnis Cement will transport cement down the river from Quebec in 35,000t loads. McInnis will still use trucks to deliver cement from the warehouse to customers, but the new facility should decrease the trucking situation in the borough. "We've done a pretty thorough analysis of the trucking effect in the local community and, in general, we believe that trucking will go down," said Jim Braselton, senior vice president of sales, marketing and logistics at McInnis Cement.
As part of the project, McInnis Cement plans to build a pedestrian pathway on the waterfront. It aims to break ground on the project by the end of the summer of 2015, with completion by the end of 2016.
US: Lafarge and Holcim have announced further details on the package of assets that they propose to divest in the US as part of their planned merger to create LafargeHolcim. The divestments include:
- Lafarge's 1.1Mt/yr Davenport cement plant in Iowa and seven terminals along the Mississippi River. The units will be sold to Summit Materials for US$450m in cash plus Summit's Bettendorf, Iowa cement terminal;
- Holcim terminals in Michigan and Illinois;
- Holcim Skyway 600,000t/yr slag grinding station in Illinois;
- Holcim Camden 700,000t/yr slag grinding station in New Jersey, along with a terminal in Massachusetts.
The proposed divestments have been negotiated with the staff of the Federal Trade Commission and remain subject to review and approval by the commission. The divestments will be completed subject to acceptance by the commission and to the closing of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge.