Venezuelan court approves cement takeovers
On 17 June Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice approved the nationalisation of the country’s cement industry, which was decreed by President Hugo Chávez in early April.
On 3 April President Chávez ordered the nationalisation of the cement industry, accusing the sector of prioritising profitable exports over sales to the domestic market. State control over the sector will allow the government to ensure adequate supplies of cheap cement for the local market, in particular for its low-income housing programs.
The court ruled that the state could assume ’direct control’ over the industry based on its ’strategic value for the economic and social development of the country’.
The ruling will allow the government to take at least a 60% stake in the local cement sector, along with operational and administrative control.
Published under Cement News
