Cemex faces complaints over proposed RMC purchase

Cemex that last week made a UK£2.3bn bid to buy Britain’s RMC, is to face a complaint about the alleged anti-competitive nature of its business practices. Comercio para el Desarrollo Mexicano (CDM) will this week hand a dossier to Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission. This will contain sworn affidavits from a number of the country’s largest cement wholesalers claiming that a small group of cement groups monopolise the Mexican market.
 
For the past 72 days, the ship chartered by CDM, the Mary Nour, has been blocked from importing 27,000t of Russian-sourced cement into the Port of Altamira in the Gulf of Mexico. It has now been seized by local authorities and is reportedly losing CDM $26,500 daily.
 
The complaint is expected to embarrass Cemex in its UK-RMC bid. For their part, Mexican authorities claim CDM did not fulfil necessary procedures to become a legal importer of this product. This is denied by CDM however.

Nader Dajani, a CDM investor, has accused Mexican authorities of protecting a local monopoly. A court ruling on whether the ship can discharge its cargo is expected later this month.