Binani Cement to raise US$90m for expansion

Binani Cement Ltd plans to raise US$90m through overseas debt by next March to double its manufacturing capacities in China and Dubai by 2010, Managing Director Vinod Juneja told Reuters on Friday.

At present, both units have 1 million tonnes per annum of manufacturing capacity each. "We are thinking to raise funds overseas to meet our China and Dubai expansion plans," he said.

The company was also seriously looking at setting up grinding units in Africa, he added. "It could be in any of the countries in the region such as Mauritius, Mozambique and South Africa," he said in an interview.

The proposed grinding unit would have an annual capacity of 1Mt and would require an investment of around $80-85 million, Juneja said.

The company, which now has a total installed capacity of 6.25Mta at its two units in India, plans to set up a greenfield unit having an annual capacity of 2.5Mt in the western state of Gujarat.