Hima Cement Limited Explained

Hima Cement Limited
Type:Subsidiary of Sarrai Group
Location:Hima, Uganda
Key People:Rajbir Singh Rai
Managing Director
Num Employees:700+ (2011)
Industry:Manufacturer and distributor of cement
Products:Cement
Parent:Sarrai Group

Hima Cement Limited (HCL) is a cement manufacturer in Uganda. It is a subsidiary of the Sarrai Group, a diversified manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Uganda with subsidiaries in Uganda, Kenya and Malawi.[1]

Location

The main factories of HCL are located in Hima in Kasese District in the Western Region of Uganda. This is approximately 23.5km (14.6miles), by road, northeast of Kasese, the nearest large town and the location of the district headquarters. Hima is approximately 350km (220miles), by road, west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The geographical coordinates of the main factory are: 0°17'21.0"N, 30°10'45.0"E (Latitude:0.289167; Longitude:30.179167).

In 2018, HCL opened a new US$40 million cement factory along the Tororo-Mbale-Soroti Road, with production capacity of 850000tonne annually, to match the output from Kasese District.[2] The new factory will increase total output for Hima Cement Uganda Limited to 1900000tonne annually.[2] The Tororo factory of Hima Cement Limited came online in 2018.[3]

Overview

As of 2019, HCL was the second-largest manufacturer of cement in Uganda, producing an estimated 2 million metric tonnes annually, accounting for 28 percent on national output. 20 percent of Hima's production was exported to South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.[4]

In addition to the factories in Hima and Tororo, HCL maintains a corporate office in Twed Towers, Kafu Road, in Kampala and two warehouses, one in Kampala's industrial area and the other in the eastern border town of Tororo. HCL also owns a limestone quarry at Dura in the Kamwenge District, which supplies the limestone used in cement manufacturing. The quarry is estimated to contain enough limestone to sustain current production capacity until 2036.[5]

History

In 1994, the parastatal formerly known as Uganda Cement Industries was privatized by the government of Uganda. It was split into Tororo Cement and Hima Cement. The two companies were acquired by different investors. Tororo Cement eventually became Tororo Cement Limited. In 1999, the French conglomerate LaFarge acquired 100 percent shareholding in Hima Cement and re-branded the company into Hima Cement Limited. Production capacity at the HCL's factories increased steadily from the 20,000 metric tonnes in 1994 to 850,000 tonnes in 2011. In 2018, total production capacity at both factories in Hima and Tororo, in Uganda was 1700000tonne annually.[6]

Supply contracts

In July 2017, HCL signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Communications Construction Company to supply 120,000 metric tonnes of cement for three public projects as follows: 1. Over the next five years, HCL will supply 30,000 metric tonnes of cement (60 percent of the project requirements) for the ongoing expansion of the Entebbe International Airport. 2. Over the next three years, HCL will supply 60,000 metric tonnes of cement for the Mubende-Kakumiro-Kagadi Road. 3. Over the next three years, HCL will supply 30,000 metric tonnes of cement for the Tororo-Mbale-Soroti Road.[7] 4. Hima Cement has been the largest supplier of cement during the construction of the 600 megawatts Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station, between 2013 and 2020.[8]

Ownership

Prior to November 2023, Hima Cement Limited was a subsidiary of Holcim, a large Swiss-based buildings material conglomerate. The table below illustrates the shareholders in Hima Cement Limited at that time.[9]

Hima Cement Limited Stock Ownership Before November 2023 ! Rank !! Name of Owner !! Number of shares!!Percentage Ownership
1 1,335,600
2 Cementia Holdings AG 572,400
Total 1,908,000

In November 2023, The Sarrai Group of Uganda signed binding documentation to buy the 70 percent that Holcim previously held in Hima Cement Limited, for a consideration of US$84 million. Contemporaneously, Rwimi Holdings Limited, another Ugandan company, signed documentation to buy the remaining 30 percent of the Ugandan cement maker from Cementia Holding AG at a price reported at US$36 million. The transactions require regulatory approval from Kenya, Uganda, Switzerland and COMESA.[10] [11]

When the deal receives regulatory approval, the shareholding in the business will look as depicted in the table below:[10] [11] The sale was concluded on 5 March 2024 after all the regulatory approvals were obtained.[12]

Hima Cement Limited Stock Ownership After November 2023! Rank !! Name of Owner !! Number of shares!!Percentage Ownership
1 1,335,600
2 Rwimi Holdings 572,400
Total 1,908,000

Developments

In November 2023 Hima Cement and Coca Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU), Ugandan subsidiary of Coca Cola Beverages Africa, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining collaboration between the two in reducing plastic waste in Uganda. The MOU stipulates that CCBU will collect plastic waste from used beverage bottles that it produces and pass on those bottles to Hima Cement who will incorporate the plastic waste in heating up their kilns in the manufacture of cement. The collaboration will initially last three years.[13]

External links

0.2892°N 30.1792°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Uganda’s Sarrai buys Hima Cement from Swiss Holcim Group . Uganda Business News (UBN) . 16 November 2023 . UBN . 7 March 2024 . Kampala, Uganda.
  2. Web site: 20 January 2017 . Cement companies rush to set up new plants in Tororo . Mark Keith Muhumuza . . Kampala . 4 June 2020.
  3. Web site: Tororo rises from the dust as new cement factories open . . 8 May 2018 . Joseph Omollo and Fred Wambede . 4 June 2020 . Kampala.
  4. Web site: . Cement export earnings rise by 25 percent . 16 April 2019 . Dorothy Nakaweesi . 4 June 2020 . Kampala.
  5. Web site: Quarry Boosts Hima Cement Output . . 15 August 2011 . Hope Mafaranga . 4 June 2020 . Kampala.
  6. Web site: Hima Cement Limited: About Us . Hima Cement Limited . Hima Cement Limited . 4 June 2020 . 4 June 2020 . Hima, Uganda . 4 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200604221114/https://www.lafarge.co.ug/1-About_us . dead .
  7. Web site: . 27 July 2017 . Hima pulls ahead in race for Uganda’s large infrastructure projects . 4 June 2020 . Julius Barigaba . Nairobi.
  8. Web site: LafargeHolcim through its local actor Hima Cement helps power a more sustainable Uganda . 15 April 2019 . . LafargeHolcim . 4 June 2020 . Jona, Switzerland.
  9. Web site: . 24 September 2016 . Hima Cement to invest $40m in new Tororo plant . Halima Abdallah . Nairobi, Kenya.
  10. Web site: 16 November 2023 . Bamburi sells Sh12bn stake in Uganda . . Victor Juma . 17 November 2023 . Nairobi, Kenya.
  11. Web site: . Kenya cement maker sells $84m stake in Uganda . 16 November 2023 . 17 November 2023 . Nairobi, Kenya.
  12. Web site: . Bamburi Cement completes Sh12bn sale of Uganda subsidiary . 7 March 2024 . Patrick Alushula . 7 March 2024 . Nairobi, Kenya.
  13. Web site: 21 November 2023 . CCBU and Hima cement partnership to fuel plastic waste solution . . The Independent Uganda . 27 November 2023 . Kampala, Uganda.