PORTUGAL: Brazil's Camargo Correa Provides Details On Bid For Portugal's Cimpor

InterCement, the cement unit of Brazilian industrial conglomerate Grupo Camargo Correa (CGCDY, CCIM3.BR), on Sunday provided further details about its bid to buy Portuguese cement company Cimpor-Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA (CPR.LB).

Camargo Correa said it hasn't changed its March 30 offer of EUR5.5 per Cimpor share, and said that payment would be made immediately after the offer closes, in cash.

The company emphasized that Cimpor would remain a Portuguese company, with the same brand, and that it would be strengthened by having a stable ownership structure. Camargo Correa plans to unify all of its cement operations under Cimpor, giving the Portuguese company more international clout, with InterCement's assets in South America--and Brazil in particular--and boosting Cimpor's own presence in Africa, according to the statement.

Camargo Correa said that Cimpor's ownership structure is fragmented and "without strategic coherence."

The group said that it plans to offer an exchange of assets to buy out Brazilian cement group Votorantim Cimentos, which owns 21.2% of Cimpor.

InterCement would first transfer to Cimpor all of its assets in South America and Angola, in exchange for most of Cimpor's assets in China, Spain, India, Morrocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Peru. InterCement would then offer those international assets to Votorantim, in exchange for its shares in Cimpor, the statement said.

Camargo Correa said it has discussed the matter with Votorantim, and that there's a "very strong possibility" that Votorantim would accept.

Camargo Correa is already Cimpor's largest single shareholder, with a 32.9% stake, followed by Votorantim. Camargo Correa and Votorantim purchased their 53% stake in Cimpor in 2010.

KENYA:Rhino Cement commissions Mkuranga plant next month

Rhino Cement, under the ownership of Athi River Cement of Kenya, is going to commission two largest plants in east and central Africa beginning next month.

The plants with the total capacity of producing 2.3 million tonnes of cement annually are in the final stages of construction and staff recruitment at Mkuranga in Coast Region and Tanga city in Tanzania.

The Mkuranga plant, with the capacity of 750,000 tonnes is coming up for commissioning next month while that of Tanga will start production next year.

Speaking to this paper recently Athi River Mining Limited public relations and communication manager Julius Nyabicha said the company is currently recruiting staff to begin production at Mkuranga.

He said the Mkuranga plant will employ 300 people, of whom 100 will be skilled and the remaining unskilled.

The Tanga plant, with the capacity of 1.5 million tonnes annually is in the final stages of construction and is due to start work next year.

Besides cement production, he said, the factory will also produce 1 million tonnes of clinker annually for own use and sale to other cement producing companies, he added. Upon completion, the Tanga plant is expected to employ more than 1,000 staff, he said.

Nyabicha said the mining company has decided to invest in Tanzania because of the country’s vast demand in cement, prevalence of a conduicive investment climate, availability of raw material and the leadership’s willingness to welcome foreign investment.

He said the company sees high power costs and its availability as some of the biggest challenges it is going to face.

To overcome them, he said, the mining firm plans to start production of its own power at Mkuranga Township.

“We are going to commission production using 6MW generators per day,” he said.

Later, he said, the company will come up with a power generating plant to harness hydroelectric power within the country, he said.

He said its plans are to produce at least 66MW for its Mkuranga (6MW) and Tanga (25MW) plants out of which the remaining would be sold to the state power utility.

PHILIPPINES: Cement firm Holcim to reopen plant in Batangas

Cement firm Holcim Philippines is reopening its grinding plant in Mabini, Batangas next year, as it sees continued strong demand for cement in the country.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Holcim said it is optimistic that demand for cement will continue to flourish, especially with the government's infrastructure projects and boom in housing.

Holcim will spend around P400 million to rehabilitate the Mabini plant, which will boost its capacity by up to 22.5 million cement bags a year. The Mabini plant, which was acquired in 2003, will be the company's second facility in Batangas, after its terminal in Calaca, Batangas was reactivated last year.

Holcim Philippines chief operating officer Roland van Wijnen said the planned reopening of the grinding facility shows its commitment to deliver adequate supply for the domestic market.

"South Luzon is one of the fastest growing areas in the country and we expect this growth to continue, fuelled by both public and private construction. We want to be sure we have the facilities, ready to deliver the volumes when and where these are needed," said Van Wijnen.

In the first quarter of 2012, Holcim Philippines' sales grew nearly 20% compared to the previous year, due to steady stream of private and public construction projects. Net sales in the first quarter stood at P6.6 billion, from P5.7 billion during the same period in 2011.

Volume may be growing, but the company's profits have been eroded by high production costs, especially electricity and coal. Van Wijnen noted the company has not achieved the price levels needed to recover from these costs.

"Prices are still below what they were in 2010, which puts us in a difficult situation as we are faced with increased cost of inputs, particularly electricity and coal," he said.

Holcim is hoping better prices will be achieved this year, and is implementing measures to improve operational efficiencies and increasing use of alternative fuels and raw materials.

The company, which has 2 plants in Mindanao, is keeping a close eye on the power crisis in the region. It said it is putting in place measures to address any disruption in power supply.

ITALIA: Italcementi to become strategic partner of West China Cement

Italian cement maker Italcementi said on Friday it has agreed to acquire a stake in West China Cement as the group moves to strengthen its position in the world's largest building materials market.

In a statement on Friday Italcementi said that when the deal is complete it will own a stake of around 6.25 percent in West China Cement (WCC) to become the company's third largest shareholder.

Under the agreement Italcementi will sell to WCC Shaanxi Fuping Cement Company, which also owns 35 percent of Shifeng Cement, against the subscription of a reserved capital increase of WCC.

Italcementi will underwrite 284.2 million new shares in WCC at HK$ 2.1815 per share, it said.

VIETNAM: Extiende grupo tailandés negocios en Vietnam

El grupo tailandés Siam Cement SCG aumentó sus activos en Vietnam en 370 millones de dólares, tras ampliar sus negocios en la industria del plástico. 

Esa entidad adquirió 22,6 por ciento de las acciones de la Compañía Tien Phong y otro paquete de 16,7 por ciento perteneciente a la empresa Binh Minh, las líderes vietnamitas en este rubro. 

A 20 años de su operación en Vietnam, SCG dispone de 12 fábricas en el país