Bernard Fontana, Holcim's chief executive, recently visited Sri Lanka and told local media that the merger of Holcim and Lafarge was unlikely to have any negative impact on Sri Lanka.
"Sri Lanka is a growing market and we are optimistic about the development in this market," Fontana told reporters. Holcim has been and continues to be committed to growth in Sri Lanka.
Fontana also said Holcim and Lafarge would divest assets in countries where the two companies have overlapping operations. "Two-thirds of the divestitures will take place in Europe," he said. In addition, we will also review our operations in Canada, the United States and Brazil.
It is reported that Holcim's market share in Sri Lanka is around 30%. Since entering the Sri Lankan market, Holcim has invested $150 million in business development in the country and has returned about $40 million. Holcim said it expected a better return on investment in Sri Lanka in the long term. In addition, LafargeHolcim's assets in the country will account for less than about 50% of the market share after the merger.
Fontana also said that the Lafarge-Holcim merger would take at least 12 months to complete and would need to be approved by 22 European regulators. "Holcim and Lafarge will remain competitors until the closing of the merger," Fontana said.
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