Cement maker, Athi River Mining (ARM), is looking to dispose off its subsidiaries in Rwanda and South Africa, a move that brings it closer to delisting from the NSE.
According to the company, they intend to use the income from disposals to pay off its $284 million debt owed to creditors in Kenya ($170 million), Tanzania ($110 million), and Rwanda ($4 million).
In Rwanda, the company is looking to sell its grinding plant — Kigali Cement plant in Nyarugenge District.
ARM Cement went under administration in August 2018 after it failed to meet its financial obligations. The company was suspended from trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange after it went into receivership.
On 8th May this year, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) extended the trading suspension of its stock on the NSE indefinitely.
Part of ARM’s downfall was a substantial investment in Tanzania, which did not yield return. ARM had installed two plants with an annual production capacity of 1.6 million tonnes in the country. This was besides installing two plants with a yearly production capacity of 1 million tonnes in Kenya and another plant with a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes annually.
China’s Huaxin Cement has bought the Tanzanian unit of ARM Cement, Maweni Limestone Limited, to complete one production plant. Huaxin will clear the unit’s debt worth $116 million and invest $30 million to complete and upgrade the plant.
Last year, National Cement acquired ARM Kenya for KSh5 billion.
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