Gulf Finance House, a leading Islamic investment bank, today announced plans to create Cemena, which is set to become one of the largest cement companies in the Middle East and North Africa.
In a deal with an estimated end value of $2 billion, GFH will be collaborating with strategic partners including the Associated Group, Emirates Islamic Bank, Capcorp, and leading technical partners Holtec and China National Building Material Group Corporation (CNBM) - all globally renowned and respected specialists within their fields.
The project will comprise multiple plants located across the Mena region. It is estimated that production will begin in 30 months, and the target is to supply 10 per cent of the region’s requirements in the future.
The tremendous growth in the Mena real estate sector, driven by huge numbers of private and governmental infrastructure projects, have created substantial demand for cement in the region. This, along with interest shown by European companies to secure supply into their markets from this region, are the principle factors behind GFH and its strategic partners’ plan to create Cemena, said a statement.
The GCC alone consumes around 62 million tonnes per annum but over the next three to five years this figure is expected to increase by a projected value of 40 per cent. To meet this demand Cemena will operate multiple plants in the Mena region and is planning to enter seven initial markets (UAE, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Oman and Libya), and in time, hopes to broaden its reach into other markets in the future, it said.
GFH chairman Esam Janahi said: "There is a substantial wealth of opportunity in this marketplace. Accordingly, we have consolidated a team comprising one of the biggest cement companies in the world, the cream of industry consultants and our own specialist teams to conceive this landmark project which answers the heavy demand in the GCC and Mena, but also offers our investors high returns on their equity."
As a partner to GFH, Holtec Consulting Private Limited with its vast global experience, will take the responsibility of leading our technical advisory for project design and development. CNBM, which will also provide specialised technical support to Cemena, is an EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contractor, considered to be one of the leading experts in their field.
GFH has a reputation for innovation and initiatives that result in sector specific economic infrastructure initiatives, and Cemena is set to reserve a proportion of its cement output for these projects, as well as GFH’s partners’ projects. The remaining cement output is expected to be channeled through ready-mix providers and will feed the fast growing demand throughout the region and support the continuing construction boom. -TradeArabia News Service