Holderbank moves on Malaysia Holderbank acquired 70% of the share capital of Tenggara Cement Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia, worth about US$28 million, as part of the group's strategy of strengthening its presence in Southeast Asian markets. Tenggara operates a grinding station in the southern state of Johore Bahru with an annual capacity of 1.1 million mt and a domestic market share of around 30%. Net sales in 1998 are expected to be around US$35 million. Until the recent currency crisis, cement consumption in Malaysia had grown continuously over the past few years due to rapid industrialization. In 1997, demand reached 17.3 million mt, of which 13.9 million mt were supplied by national cement producers. Cement consumption in the southern peninsula of Malaysia amounted to 3.1 million mt that year.

Cemex casts net wider In a move to achieve greater geographical diversification, Cemex announced through Valencianade Cementos, its principal international subsidiary, that it will sell the Alcala de Guadaira plant to Spain's Grupo Valderrivas. The sale, representing 11% of the Mexican company's operations in Spain, will bring in about US$260 million. The Alcala plant has a production capacity of 1 million mt. The agreed price also includes the sale of ready-mix concrete, mortar, and aggregate plants in Andalucia and Extremadura.

Heidelberger Zement regroups CBR's board of directors and the supervisory board of Heidelberger Zement approved the regrouping of their activities in North America. In the new organization, Heidelberger and CBR will own 45% and 55%, respectively, of the combined U.S. and Canadian operations. In the United States, a merger will be realized between the American top holdings of each group. The objectives of the regrouping are said, on the one hand, to benefit from the operational and financial synergies between the subsidiaries of each group and, on the other hand, to consolidate the management structure in North America. Based on 1997 figures, the total annual deliveries of the regrouped operations include 8.6 million mt of cement, 4.8 million m3 of ready-mixed concrete, and 23.3 million mt of aggregate. Total gross sales for the combined companies amounted to US$1.4 billion.

Daewoo exports increase Daewoo Corp. of South Korea plans to export 500,000 mt of cement, worth about US$20 million, to Egypt this year, according to a Reuters report. Produced by the Tong Yang Cement Corp., the cement to be shipped to the African nation accounts for one-half of Korea's 1 million mt in cement exports during the first half of 1998, company officials said. Through its market diversification efforts, Daewoo will export a total of US$910 million in chemical products this year, up 40% from the US$440 million recorded in 1997.

Cemex enters via back door A plan to buy shares in Indonesian cement maker PT Semen Gresik by Cemex, organized through Placefield Investments, Cemex's Netherlands Antilles-based subsidiary, violates no laws. However, the move suggests an attempt to evade tax, according to a Reuters report. An official in the office of the State Minister of State Enterprises Sofyan Djalil said that a purchase carried out by a subsidiary is a normal thing in business. In a recent press meeting, Djalil said that companies often enter into business deals through subsidiaries in tax-haven countries such as the Virgin Islands.