Slim enters cement sector

MEXICO CITY - Agence France—Presse

Mogul Slim hopes to become the best cement maker in Mexico. REUTERS photo

Mexican telecoms mogul Carlos Slim will enter the cement business in 2013 through a big stake in a new company, Cementos Fortaleza, the firm said Oct. 16. Cementos Fortaleza hopes to become “the best cement maker in Mexico,” with Slim taking a 46 percent stake and business partner Antonio del Valle owning 54 percent, chief executive Antonio Tarracena told a news conference. The new company, part of the conglomerate Elementia, will begin operations in 2013 with the completion of a $300 million plant in the central state of Hidalgo.

The initial aim is to serve three percent of Mexico’s cement market, putting it in direct competition with Monterrey-based Cemex, one of the world’s biggest cement companies.