China’s Huaxin Cement to invest in new production line

Huaxin Cement Co Ltd said its board has approved a proposal to invest 200 mln yuan to set up a new production facility.  The company will have complete ownership of the production line, which will start construction this year and be put into operation next year.  The facility will produce 2.2Mt of cement annual. The company said the production line will generate core revenue of 453.84 mln yuan and net profit of 108.788 mln a year, due to low production costs.  The proposal is pending approval at the 2003 shareholders meeting scheduled for April 28.  Huaxin Cement said it recorded a net profit of 68.24 mln yuan last year, against 29.32 mln in 2002. Holcim has a 23.4 per cent stake in the company.