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Sandy Li

Shui On Construction and Materials (Socam), a Hong Kong-based builder, plans to invest 6 billion yuan (HK$6.82 billion) in a mainland joint venture with the world's largest cement maker Lafarge to fund the construction of five dry kilns next year.
New plants will be built in Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou and it will buy two production lines in Guizhou from Socam. With the  kilns, the venture, Lafarge Shui On Cement, would double its annual cement production to 50 million tonnes by 2012.
Socam chairman Vincent Lo Hong-sui expects demand for the building material to remain strong even though developers were scaling back on construction in the wake of a weakening market.
Property prices across 70 major cities dropped 0.1 per cent last month compared with July, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. But average prices rose 5.3 per cent from a year ago.
'I do not see shrinking demand for cement as there are lots of infrastructure projects under construction,' Mr Lo said.
Socam managing director Frankie Wong Yuet-leung said the reconstruction of quake-hit Sichuan and Chongqing  would require 300 million tonnes of cement.
Mr Wong said he was optimistic on sales in the second half  as 'it is entering the peak season'.
Socam yesterday announced first-half net profit jumped 1,350 per cent to HK$873 million, driven by the disposal gain of its shares in Shui On Land. The firm sold 3.1 per cent in Shui On Land for HK$1 billion.
After the sale, Mr Lo said Socam still held a 9.5 per cent stake in Shui On Land. 'It is part of the group's effort to allocate funds for investing in fast growth area projects,' he said.
Turnover fell 5.7 per cent to HK$1.3 billion from a year ago. The cement joint venture contributed an operating profit of HK$104 million.
An interim dividend of 20 HK cents was declared, compared with 15 HK cents a year ago.
Socam's 45 per cent-owned joint venture China Central Properties (CCP) had sold three distressed properties.  As of June, CCP had a portfolio of 13 property projects in  Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Qingdao and Shenyang.



Socam to invest 6b yuan in 5 kilns