A clash of the giants is imminent between PPC Ltd and Nigeria’s Dangote in the cement industry in SA, as the new player gears up to challenge PPC Ltd in both the local and the rest of Africa’s cement trade.
Yesterday, PPC Ltd announced that it would gain a 49% stake in the Hodna Cement Company placing its foot firm on the door of the cement industry in Algeria.
The company plans to construct a $350-m plant in the country in a deal which will be funded on a project finance basis.
According to PPC Ltd’s announcement, 80% of the debt funding of this deal will be obtained from local Algerian banks.
This was another step in reali-sing the company’s ambitions to be a significant player in emerging markets throughout Africa. However, Dangote Cement, through its subsidiary, Sephaku Cement, also has plans to open its 3-m-ton per year integrated cement plant at Aganang, North West province in early 2014, said Global Cement in a statement.
According to figures from Global Cement, “it will be the first time the Nigerian cement giant will be producing cement in the same country as its competitor in sub-Saharan Africa. The encounter will set the tone for the producers’ next clash when they both open cement plants in Ethiopia in 2015,” said the organisation.
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By Ayanda Mdluli
