Holcim aims high in Asia
Holcim Ltd has raised its sights on expanding sales of its cement in the Asia-Pacific region to 25 per cent of its aggregate sales next year from 13 per cent this year.
Chief executive Markus Akerman said demand for cement had been increasing in the region, especially in China, India and Vietnam. Now it wants a bigger presence in those emerging markets."We have been in China and now we're waiting to see the Chinese government's attitude toward our investment there, just like in Vietnam and India," he said while in Bangkok to attend the Holcim Award presentation ceremony. Holcim is the majority shareholder in Siam City Cement Plc, Thailand's second-largest cement-maker with annual production capacity of 14.8 million tonnes. Akerman said that political turmoil in Thailand bit into the company's cement sales in March and April. He would not discuss sales figures. The Swiss company operates in 70 countries, with 135 cement plants, 398 aggregate plants, 989 ready-mixed concrete plants and 111 asphalt plants. Last year, its sales surpassed 18 billion Swiss francs (Bt634 billion). Watcharapong Thongrung, The Nation
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