Cement News tagged under: Afrisam

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South Africa's carbon tax: an opportunity for eco-cements

07 June 2019, Published under Cement News

On 26 May 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed off South Africa's Carbon Tax Act, which came into effect on 1 June. The financial impact on South Africa's cement sector should intensify carbon emission reduction programmes and accelerate the trend towards the production of eco-blended cements, but it could also have a negative effect of encouraging cheaper imports. In this first phase, a tax of ZAR120/t (US$8/t) of CO 2 emitted will be in place. However, polluters receive 60-95 per cent ...

AfriSam expects carbon tax to boost slagment sales

24 April 2019, Published under Cement News

AfriSam is helping to support customers seeking to reduce their carbon footprint with its 'slagment', which is expected to see an increasing rise in popularity following the new carbon tax in South Africa, which comes into force in June 2019. AfriSam's dedicated slagment plant in Vanderbijlpark has the capacity to produce over 0.8Mta of slagment, along with over 0.2Mt of blended cementitious products. For over half a century, AfriSam has produced its trade-named 'slagment' from ground granu...

South Africa's construction sector unlikely to recover before 2021

26 February 2019, Published under Cement News

Following Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's first budget, economist Dr Azar Jammine has raised hopes for a "major recovery" in the South African economy, but he warned it was unlikely to happen before 2021. Speaking at AfriSam's 2019 National Budget Breakfast in Sandton on Thursday, Dr Jammine told a diverse audience of more than 200 people from the construction sector that 2019-20 would remain very difficult. Planned government investment in infrastructure, for instance, was expected to rise...

PPC

31 January 2019, Published under Cement News

This month has seen South Africa’s Competition Tribunal once again turn its attention to alleged cartel activity in the cement industry. The Competition Commission previously argued in 2008 that PPC, AfriSam, Lafarge and Natal Portland Cement (NPC) were involved in a market-sharing arrangement in the late 1990s. PPC was granted conditional immunity from prosecution in exchange for complete disclosure of all cartel activity between itself and its competitors. AfriSam and Lafarge paid fines...

AfriSam sponsors Biodiversity category at Eco-Logic Awards

09 May 2018, Published under Cement News

South Affrican cement producer, AfriSam is sponsoring an award for the Biodiversity Category in the 2018 Eco-Logic Awards. The Enviropaedia Eco-Logic Awards, introduced in 2011, are designed to recognise individuals, organisations and communities that positively contribute towards a sustainable world. The 2018 Eco-Logic Awards gala event will be held on 5 June 2018. The awards have grown in popularity over the years and now cover 13 environmental categories. The award in the Biodiversity...

Fund manager gains veto control over PPC

07 November 2017, Published under Cement News

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has increased its stake in PPC Ltd, South Africa, to just over 25 per cent, the threshold required to gain ‘negative control’ over the country’s largest cement producer, according to a report in Business Day. The PIC, which also controls 66 per cent of the second-largest player in South Africa, Afrisam, is now the able to block any significant transactions the PPC Ltd board seeks to pursue. Such transactions would require support from 75 per cent of s...

PPC

01 November 2017, Published under Cement News

October has seen the saga over PPC’s future continue to dominate the headlines. Last month saw AfriSam submit a merger deal, backed by Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings. However, Prudential Investment Managers, which holds a 13-14 per cent stake in PPC, opposed the merger saying that the AfriSam deal undervalued PPC and that PPC’s share price would double in the next 3-4 years as operations across Africa ramp up. Visio Capital Management, which has a seven per cent share in PPC, th...

PIC increases shareholding in PPC

17 October 2017, Published under Cement News

Cement producer PPC reported on Monday, 16 October, that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) had increased its shareholding in the South African cement company, which is currently mulling bids from several parties that are vying for its shares. AfriSam, supported by Canada's Fairfax Africa Investments, made an offer in September to buy R2bn of PPC ordinary shares at ZAR5.75 a share (US$0.43). The offer includes a ZAR4bn recapitalisation of AfriSam before any merger. The PIC, which i...

PPC is a new target for CRH

13 October 2017, Published under Cement News

CRH is among companies considering a counterbid for PPC that could trump an offer by Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings, according to Bloomberg sources. PPC’s future has been considering a merger with rival AfriSam Group failed and Toronto-based insurer Fairfax made a partial offer for ZAR2bn (US$149.5m) of PPC stock at ZAR5.75/share. PPC has a market value of ZAR11bn (€689m). Fairfax’s offer is conditional on PPC merging with AfriSam, and the South African company has appointed Invest...

PPC merger opposition grows

11 October 2017, Published under Cement News

Visio Capital Management, which holds seven per cent of PPC shares, is the latest investment manager to object to a partial conditional offer for AfriSam-Fairfax merger. Visio Capital’s position sees at least 25 per cent of shareholders opposing the merger. Earlier this week, Value Capital Partners, which owns around five per cent of PPC stock, had rejected the offer made by Canada’s Fairfax Africa Investments saying the intrinsic value of PPC was at least ZAR10/share. Fairfax had underta...