Cement Energy and Environment

ULTRATECH TO UP OUTPUT BY 9 MTPA BY 2013 UltraTech Cement Ltd plans to invest Rs 11,000 crore over the next three years to increase its production capacity. "The cement sector in India has high growth potential. We are exploring both organic · and inorganic means to grow our production capacity," Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, the company's chairman said at the 11th annual shareholders' meeting on September 9, 2011. He said the company plans tc· raise its production capacity . y 9 million tonnes a year by June 30, 2013. Many projects The capital expenditure pertains to a number of projects, including clinkerisation plants through brown-field expansion at Chhattisgarh and Karnataka and additional grinding units, installation of waste heat recovery systems and institution of bulk packaging terminals and establishment of ready-mix concrete plants. 'These projects will be funded through a judicious mix of internal accruals and borrowings," said Mr Birla. The cement sector witnessed demand growth of around 8 to 10 per cent in the past decade. Mr Birla said India's cement demand is expected to grow by 8 .5 per cent a year in the long term, with the Government investing in development of infrastructure, while a boom in the housing sector would help as well. Ultratech, one of India's largest cement producers by vol ume, has a production capacity of 52 million tonnes a year. The company has recommended a dividend of Rs. 6 per equity share. The dividend distribution wi ll result in a cash outgo of Rs. 191 crore compared to Rs.87 crore for the previous year. Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line, September 10, 2011, Mumbai TNPL PLANS TO SET UP CEMENT PLANT Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Limited (TNPL). plans to invest Rs 370 crore, which includes setting up of a cement plant. · "The cement will be branded as TPL's Cement and it would cater to five districts around the company's existing plant," said T. K. Ramachandran, Managing Director, TNPL. The company is setting up high gr~de cement manufacturing facility with a capacity of 600 TPD in the mill premises, which is under implementation. The Project will be completed by December 2011 and the cement made will be available in the market from January 2012. The company, which started as a manufacturer of newsprint, has decided to stop production of newsprint and is diversifying into cement and paperboard manufacturing. Courtesy: Konstruction Review Sep. 2011, P9. L Merger & Acquisition COMPETITION LAW NEEDS CHANGE TO ENSURE INDUSTRY GROWTH: Cll The Industry body (CII) has said the Competition Act does not appropriately address the industry's concerns and needs to be amended for ensuring that M&A regulations promote growth. Gil's appeal is particularly in regard to Sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act, 2002, which mandates large companies to seek the Competition Commission of India's (CCI's) nod before going ahead with merger or acquisitions. "We believe that the current provisions of the competition law do not adequately address the concerns of the industry, especially with regard to the regulation of combinations. "We have highlighted the issues in the past too and again request for an amendment of the Competition Act to make it conducive to the industrial and economic growth of the country," the Cll Di rector General Chandrajit Banerjee, said in a statement. Cll said it feels that grouping the assets or turnover of business conglomerates without considering the different product markets being addressed by various entities in the conglomerate, is not a proper approach . Cll has suggested that the parties to a proposed combination should be allowed to voluntarily notify the Commission of a combination at any time prior to or within thirty days of the decision to combine without having to wait for the trigger event. Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line, New Delhi, October 25, 2011 AMBUJA ACQUIRES 60 PER CENT IN DIRK INDIA Ambuja Cement has purchased 60 per cent stake in Dirk India for Rs 16.51 crore ($3.5 million). Dirk India is based in western Maharashtra and manufactures processed fly ash. With this acquisition, Dirk India and Dirk Pozzocrete have become subsidiaries of Ambuja Cement. 7