LafargeHolcim Vietnam no more
LafargeHolcim Vietnam no more
The sale of the 65 per cent stake in LafargeHolcim Vietnam by its Swiss mother company to Thai Siam City Cement has been finished.
As reported by VnExpress, on February 28, LafargeHolcim Vietnam announced its new name, Siam City Cement Vietnam, with the product brand INSEE, following the example set by SCC taking over LafargeHolcim subsidiaries in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Nguyen Cong Minh Bao, director of sustainable development at Siam City Cement Vietnam, said that though the products now bear the INSEE insignia, the relationships with partners, customers, and other parties will remain unchanged.
LafargeHolcim is currently the largest multinational cement producer in the world in terms of installed capacity. It is present in 90 countries and focuses on manufacturing cement, aggregates, and concrete.
LafargeHolcim Vietnam operated one integrated plant and four grinding plants with an annual cement grinding capacity of 6.3 million tonnes. The company was also a leading ready-mix concrete producer, operating seven plants in Southern Vietnam. The company’s Vietnam-based production capacity was the second smallest in Asia Pacific.
On August 4, 2016, LafargeHolcim announced signing an agreement with SCCC for the divestment of its entire 65 per cent shareholding in LafargeHolcim Vietnam for an enterprise value of CHF867 million (on a 100 per cent basis), equal to $857.5 million.
Regarding its operations in Vietnam, according to the company’s 2016 annual report, ready-mix concrete volumes dropped significantly as a result of day-time delivery restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City. Supported by cost savings, adjusted operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew compared to 2015.
According to the report, Vietnam recorded robust economic growth. The construction market grew as residential, commercial, and infrastructure construction activity increased. Vietnam reported an increase in cement volumes driven by strong market growth, power plant projects in the south of the country, and an increase in residential housing construction.
