Semen Gresik Acquires Vietnamese Cement Company

Jakarta - PT Semen Gresik Tbk. (SMGR) has acquired 70 percent of shares of a cement company in Vietnam worth US$157 million. "The US$157 million is the value of the transaction in the takeover of 70 percent of shares of Thang Long Cement Joint Stock Company (TLCC) from Ha Noi General Export-Import Joint Stock Company (Geleximco)," SMGR president director Dwo Soetjipto said in a press statement received here on Wednesday. He said the corporate action followed the signing of a conditional sale and purchase agreement (CSPA) here on November 14, 2012 stating that Geleximco and SMGR have met all the conditions put in the CSPA and have achieved an agreement for the take over of TLCC. He said after the takeover TLCC would be SMGR's subsidiary and its financial report would be consolidated into the SMGR. "In the next few weeks SMGR would put its representatives in the board of management and directors at TLCC. A lot still has yet to be done but the management is optimistic the takeover could accelerate the growth of business of SMGR to make the company more competitive to eventually give a bigger value to shareholders in the long-term," he said. He said TLCC is one of the noted cement producers in Vietnam with a total production capacity at 2.3 million tons a year located in Quang Ninh with its plant located in the Ho Chi Minh suburb with a reserve of limestone deposit at around 76 million tons. "The vicinity of the location of TLCC plant in Quang Ninh with Cai-Lan seaport and the plant to a river transportation lane in Mekong Delta and inter-regional road network and the international port makes distribution to be effective and efficient," he said. He said TLCC also has the potential to develop two new plants in the provinces of Quang Ninh and Binh Phuoc which are supported by limestone deposit of more than 200 million tons. He said this would open chances to meet Vietnam's domestic market demand which has kept increasing and also to meet shortage of supply in Indonesia. (*)