The Times of India reported on Wednesday that Cemex is in talks to buy a stake in south India-based Penna Cement to move into the world’s second-largest cement market.
"We are looking all over the world. We would like to be in India, yes," Chief Executive Lorenzo Zambrano told a news conference in the company’s home city of Monterrey, but declined to comment on any possible talks with Penna.
This month, Cemex said it was investing $100 million in investment fund Blue Rock Cement Holdings to help build a cement plant in Peru, where construction is booming.
"We always said within the company that Cemex should be an elephant on a diet, a slim elephant, but we have transformed it into a greyhound," said Zambrano, who has admitted that the Rinker takeover, one of the biggest in emerging markets, was badly financed and poorly timed.
The company ended the first quarter with a net debt including perpetual securities of around US$18bn.
But Zambrano’s upbeat attitude was tempered by his acknowledgment that Cemex has yet to see a real improvement in demand for its key European and U.S. cement volumes and that the company still aims to make $80 million in savings this year. Zambrano also said he expects more asset sales.
"Now that things are looking much better, we can sell these assets ... and obtain a better price," he said.
