Friday, April 10, 2015

CAMEROON: Cement Available At Varied Prices

Some brands are however scarce in Yaounde.

People willing to buy cement in the nation's capital Yaounde, have no reason to worry. The time for teeth-gnashing over the scarcity of the product might not have come, given that shops have been stockpiled with the precious construction material. Although allegations of scarcity might be rolled out; not all brands are readily available in the market.

The Mvog-Mbi market yesterday 6 April 2015 was full of activity as usual. In five building material shops visited, business was at its peak. The demand for cement was high as usual. Stockpiles of cement were visible in all the shops. However, not all brands were available. Customers of imported brands, especially "Conch", could not be served. Dearth of this has been reported. A customer who came to one of the numerous shops in Mvog Mbi was interested in the "Cimaf" brand. He got his disappointment of the day when the waiter nodded his head in disapproval. Gerard was quick to note that the brand was in short supply. He explained that their shop has not been supplied with "Cimaf" cement in the last two weeks.

Next to the shop is another branch of a big construction material shop with no aorta of "Cimaf" to satisfy the client. One common thing with all shops visited was the availability of "Cimencam" as well as "Ciment Colle" brands. The only shop that had "Cimaf" was SOREPCO. When Cameroon Tribune got to its warehouse in Mvog-Mbi, 30 tonnes of "Cimaf" (600 sacks) were being off-loaded. A worker who preferred not to be named said they were in the process of supplying their retail shops at FCFA 4,950 per bag.

USA: Cement Shortage Not Expected

Green Bay’s shipping season is off to an early start. Passing some cargo early is important, especially for builders.

The S.S. Alpena, which brought cement, left Green Bay Monday morning. It’s one of two vessels that have been in port. The other exported petroleum.

Last year at this time, the brutal winter left thick ice, which delayed the start of the shipping season at the Port of Green Bay.

“Last year’s shipping season we lost a couple weeks, in the neighborhood of about four weeks, due to the ice conditions,” said Dean Haen, Brown County Port and Resource Recovery Director. “So this year we’re opening in a more normal shipping season starting here in the beginning of April."

That later starting date, and more project requiring cement in the area, created a problem for some construction companies.

This year they’re welcoming the more normal start to the shipping season before summer construction projects fully take shape.

“Things are definitely ramping up and in about a week to two weeks it’ll be at full capacity,” said Mike Ausloos, Northern Concrete Construction’s Director of Business Development.

About 200 ships are expected to use the Port of Green Bay this year. Officials anticipate those ships will transport more than 2 tons of cargo, including cement.

“We do still have some construction projects, road projects, the highway 41 reconstruction is still continuing,” Haen said. “We should see a high amount of cement coming into the port.”

MEXICO: GCC sees slowdown as U.S. oil sector dips

Mexican cement maker Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) expects sales growth to decline this year after record revenue last year as low oil prices constrict demand in the United States, the company's top market.

GCC Treasurer Luis Carlos Arias said in an interview that after a nearly 20-percent sales spike in 2014, the company projects only single digit growth in the United States, which accounts for about 70 percent of total sales.

Demand in Mexico is expected to fall slightly, he said.

Cement is used to build protective casings for oil wells, including drilling projects at U.S. shale developments that have been booming in the United States over the past few years.

Low oil prices have already caused falling rig counts at many shale projects.

Mexico's biggest cement maker Cemex holds an indirect minority stake in GCC, which operates six plants in the United States and Mexico, via a company that owns nearly three-quarters of GCC stock.

GCC has an annual production capacity of 4.4 million tonnes of cement.

WORLD: CEO Named for Cement Titan LafargeHolcim

The boards of France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim have approved Eric Olsen for the role of chief executive officer once the firms merge, creating the world’s biggest cement company, they announced on Thursday.

The 51-year-old French and American national is currently executive vice president for operations at Lafarge, said a Holcim statement.

Last year the two companies announced plans to create a cement titan employing more than 130,000 people, which would generate annual sales of 32 billion euros ($34 billion) and underlying profits of 6.5 billion euros — a major event in the global construction industry.

The merger still must be approved by two-thirds of shareholders at each of the two companies at special general assemblies.

In March the two companies renegotiated the exchange ratio for the merger — nine Holcim shares for 10 Lafarge shares — after the sharp rise in the Swiss franc drove up Holcim’s value.

NIGERIA: Cement: N1,000 price-tag, CPAN takes case to Buhari

The last may not have been heard of the controversies surrounding the activities of players in the cement sub sector of the economy. The sector was embroiled in series of controversies last year ranging from the different usage of the grade of cement, which many had advocated was the primary cause of building collapses in the country.

This led to the formulation of new policy on the usage of cement by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, recommending the 32.5 grade, which is more popular among the manufacturers, to be used for mere plastering, and the 42.5 grade for other purposes, while the 52.5 was to be used for heavy construction works.

The manufacturers were also pitched against each other over the pricing of the product. Dangote Group had announced that it would slash the price of cement to N1, 000, which many Nigerians had waited patiently for, but did not materialized.

Industry watchers believe that the announcement was a form of marketing strategy by the Dangote Group, noting that given the prevailing situation in the country as at that time, no manufacturer can afford to sell a 50kg bag of cement at N1, 000.

Meanwhile, the Cement Producers Association of Nigeria (CPAN) has said that the product can be sold even below N1, 000 if the sub sector is adequately sanitized.

The association has, therefore, called on the presiden- elect, General Mohammadu Buhari, to declare, at his inauguration, a change in the price of cement from N2, 200 per bag to N1, 000 per bag. This, the association said will serve as the first dividend of change, which the people of Nigeria voted for. The association lamented that the cement industry has witnessed the worst height of corruption and injustice for the past six years after the death of Late President Musa Yar’Adua.

According to a statement signed by the chairman of the association, Prince David Iweta, and made available to newsmen, Nigeria is the country with the highest price of cement in the World.

He said countries that have attained self sufficiency in cement production all over the world sell cement at N500 per bag but lamented that in Nigeria where the federal government has claimed success in the cement industry and net exporter of cement, the product is selling at N2, 200 per bag.

CAMEROON: L’offre de ciment se consolide

Au moins six marques, locales et importées, désormais proposées aux consommateurs.

Ce lundi 6 avril en fin de matinée, un pousseur à l’outil de travail bien chargé convoie sa cargaison d’un pas résolu au lieu dit « Douche » à Akwa.

Il transporte du ciment, activité plutôt commune dans le coin où plusieurs grandes maisons de matériaux de construction ont ouvert des agences. De fait, dans ces parages, celui qui cherche du ciment aura le choix : entreposés dans un angle des installations de la société Cogeni, des sacs de la marque Cimencam continuent de s’écouler. Ils sont vendus à 4 600F le sac de 50kg. Une plaque indique que le ciment Cimaf (dont l’usine de production est basée à Bonabéri) se vend, lui, à 4 400F.

Quant au produit de la cimenterie Dangote, mis sur le marché « depuis environ trois semaines », selon un cadre de l’entreprise, il n’est pas encore arrivé dans cette zone de Douala. La donne pourrait changer rapidement. Selon Serge Tohto, chef d’agence Quifeurou, sa société devrait bientôt la commercialiser. « La cimenterie Dangote vient juste de commencer sa production. Notre entreprise est en négociation avec elle pour l’approvisionnement. Nous serons ravitaillés par notre direction générale, mais nous avons déjà la fiche des prix ». Cette marque nouvelle venue pourrait coûter 4450 F le sac de 50 kg.

Sur le marché, ces trois ciments locaux, désormais en concurrence directe, doivent aussi composer avec le ciment importé. Notamment les marques « Alpha », ciment qui vient de Chine (le sac est vendu à 4500 F, a appris CT hier dans une quincaillerie de la place), « Conch », provenant toujours de l’Empire du Milieu (importé par le groupe Fokou, vendu entre 4 600 F et 4 650 F d’après des informations obtenues par notre reporter) et la marque « Boem », anciennement « As Cimento, que le groupe Afrique Construction fait venir de Turquie depuis de nombreuses années déjà (4 600 F le sac, ou 4 500F si les quantités sont importantes, de l’ordre de plusieurs camions, indique un responsable en agence). Nonobstant de sporadiques tensions ou ruptures de stocks, le ciment est bien de la partie.

Maintenant qu’il peut presque faire la fine bouche, le consommateur pourrait chercher à savoir quel est le meilleur ciment dans tout ça. Un grossiste interrogé se veut prudent : « C’est aux techniciens qui vont utiliser les différentes marques de nous dire quelle est la meilleure », déclare-t-il. Ce serait déjà bien, pour ces diverses marques, d’être régulièrement présentes sur le marché…

CAMEROON: Dangote commences cement production

The management of Dangote Cement Plc has said that its planned consolidation of the African expansion drive remains on course with the commencement of production of its $150m Cameroon plant in Douala.

The company said in a statement on Tuesday that the commencement of production in the Cameroonian commercial city came in the wake of the inauguration of another 1.5 million tonnes capacity per annum Senegal plant in Pout in January.

The company had last year listed six plants across five African countries for completion this year.

The plants, according to the President and Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote will add about 13.5 million metric tonnes of cement per annum to the existing capacity upon completion.

The plants are located in Zambia, with 1.5mmtpa capacity; Tanzania, 1.5mmtpa; South Africa, 3mmtpa; Republic of Congo, 1.5mmtpa; Gabon, 1.5mmtpa; and Senegal, 1.5mmtpa

Back home in Nigeria, Dangote Cement ramp up capacity, adding third and fourth production lines to the existing 6mmtpa in Ibese, Ogun State, to bring the total capacity to 12mmtpa, and another 3mmtpa line is currently being added to the Obajana Cement Plant in Kogi State.

Dangote told a delegation from Organised Private Sector, who visited him in his office in Lagos, that the 1.5mmtpa plant in Cameroon commenced initial production at one million tonnes per annum before it would be stepped up to the maximum capacity level.

He stated that the Douala plant would revolutionise the cement industry in Cameroon and help stimulate the Western African economy as Dangote Cement would be churning out its 42.5 quality grade of cement at a very competitive price.

Dangote explained that the plant remained the most modern in Cameroon because of the latest technologies used in its construction from Germany, United States and France by the renowned plant engineering firm, Sinoma.

He stated that the company started by importing clinker and that production was being carried out in the most environmental friendly level, pointing out that the dust emission by the plant was lower than the 50mm international standard.

He promised that Dangote Cement as a law abiding organisation would play by the rules of the land and that it would replicate its robust corporate social services in the host community.

ZAMBIA: Ventriglias Welcomed in Return to Zambezi Portland Cement

Employees of the Zambezi Portland Cement (ZPC) happily celebrated the return today of the original owners of the plant, Antonio Ventriglia and Manuela Sebastiani, who have announced that operations at the company shall revert to the status quo following a prolonged period under unlawful management, according to a press conference aired on Muvi TV this evening.

According to Muvi TV, when the Ventriglias arrived to the main gates of the Ndola-based cement plant this morning at 7AM, they were welcomed onto the premises without any resistance or conflict, and re-assumed management of the company without incident.

Earlier reports of armed guards and hired police officers at the plant had raised concerns over the ownership struggle, however the employees and engineers running the plant were happy to see the owners return.

Speaking during the press conference, company Managing Director Daniele Ventriglia said that ZPC would honour its commitments, and that everyone among the current staff would keep their jobs.

The company owners also said they were very happy to have the opportunity to correct the longstanding injustice of the theft of their company, and said that they would continue to vigorously assert their rights to ownership, according to the Muvi TV report.

Lusaka lawyer Sakwiba Sikota, who was also present at the ZPC plant this morning, confirmed that the resumption of operational control of the plant occurred peacefully and smoothly.

Almost two and a half years ago, control of ZPC was allegedly stolen by the local financier Rajan Mahtani following the unusual deportation of the company’s original owners and managing directors. Following these deportations, on December 3, 2012, Mahtani convened an unlawful board meeting whereupon he appointed new management to the company, effectively seizing control of all its finances.

However the tables turned on Mr. Mahtani this past March when the High Court ruled to reverse the deportation orders and reinstate the residency permits to the ZPC company directors. The owners of the company have declared the board meeting of December 3, 2012 to be null and void, returning the company to the status quo legal status pending the convening of the next shareholder meeting.

ZIMBABWE: Imara to facilitate $70m PPC loan

Harare-based Imara Fiduciary has been appointed security agent for PTA Bank to facilitate the extension of a $70 million loan to PPC Zimbabwe. The loan will fund the construction of a new cement factory in Harare.A specialist service provider registered as a bond-holding company, Imara Fiduciary, will hold tangible PPC security on behalf of PTA and other investors. 

“We are delighted by the appointment by PTA Bank for the purposes of facilitating vital infrastructure investment in Zimbabwe. We regard it as an endorsement of both our strategic vision and business model,” said Imara Fiduciary executive director Mr Markus de Klerk. 

“Risk mitigation by Imara Fiduciary is an efficient and cost-effective mechanism for achieving increased peace of mind by lenders and investors while giving the borrower a flexible and scalable security platform with a minimum of delay and red tape.” 

Mr de Klerk said they provided a boots-on-the-ground service that supports funding deployed where it is needed, while timely and accurate reporting to the investor promotes effective working relationships and helps drive the project forward within the envisaged time-frame. 

PTA is the treaty-based Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank. Its mission is to advance the economic development, integration and prosperity of the regions it serves through the extension of development capital and associated services.

“The security and debenture services of Imara Fiduciary add value in an environment where credit and other risks have to be solidly and credibly mitigated to ensure the confidence of financiers, especially international financiers,” said PTA Bank president Mr Admassu Tadesse. 

Mr Tadesse said there is no doubt that Zimbabwe has a great deal of need for financing and investment in its productive and infrastructure sectors and expansion of cement capacity is an important contribution in this respect. 

He said PTA Bank is pleased to have partnered with PPC to co-finance this sizeable investment in Zimbabwe’s private sector and the industrial economy. 

Imara Fiduciary was formally launched in Harare in early 2014 after ground-breaking work by Imara in the Zimbabwe corporate debt market. 

By early this year, Imara had raised more than $50 million in corporate debt.

Imara Fiduciary, a registered bond-holding company, provides banking and debt solutions to corporates, individuals and public-private partnerships while creating a simple, robust entry and exit to the secured corporate debt market, thereby facilitating greater syndicated and direct participation in the Zimbabwe economy by foreign investors. 

Specifically, it provides debenture, security trust and corporate governance services and functions as a non-discretionary agent managing security structures and mandatory prepayment or escrow account arrangements. It is a dedicated, boots-on-the-ground risk mitigator; not a risk underwriter.