West China Cement has proposed the acquisition of South Africa’s AfriSam, via its subsidiary West International Building Materials. The proposed transaction is reflecting the interest of Chinese cement producers into Africa. AfriSam is the leading black-controlled construction materials group in Southern Africa, with operations in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. The company has a cement production capacity of 4.5 Mta from 3 integrated cement plants (photo: Ulco cement plant in Northern Cape) as well as grinding units. Details of the proposed transaction were disclosed in a notice published in December last year by the Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) of Botswana.