Chinese cement producer West China Cement has moved to acquire South Africa’s AfriSam, highlighting the accelerating drive by Chinese industrial groups to expand across African markets as construction demand weakens at home.
Details of the proposed transaction surfaced in a notice published on December 18 by Botswana’s Competition and Consumer Authority, which invited stakeholders to submit comments “for or against the proposed merger.” The consultation window is expected to close within ten days, potentially paving the way for regulatory assessments across the region. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to BI, the proposed buyer is West International New Building Materials, a subsidiary of West China Cement, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The group is among a growing number of Chinese cement producers seeking overseas growth as China’s prolonged property slump continues to weigh on domestic cement consumption, capacity utilization, and pricing.
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China’s cement industry, the world’s largest, has been under pressure from falling housing starts, slowing infrastructure investment, and tighter financial conditions for developers. Against this backdrop, Africa has emerged as an attractive alternative, offering long-term population growth, urbanization, and infrastructure needs that underpin demand for building materials.
The continent has already seen a wave of Chinese investment in the sector. Huaxin Cement last year paid about $1 billion to acquire a controlling stake in Lafarge Africa from Holcim, marking one of the largest Chinese cement deals on the continent. West China Cement itself is no stranger to Africa, with ongoing cement plant developments in Ethiopia and Uganda, signaling a strategy of building scale across multiple markets.
For Chinese groups, acquiring established African assets offers a faster route to market than greenfield projects, providing access to existing distribution networks, limestone reserves, and local expertise.
The Move could reshape Africa’s cement market and intensify pressure on Dangote Cement
The West China Cement’s move is emerging as more than a regional deal, with analysts saying a successful takeover could alter competitive dynamics across Africa’s cement market and, over time, challenge the dominance of Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest producer.
Dangote Cement, controlled by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has long faced criticism in Nigeria over the high cost of cement, with consumers, builders, and labor groups accusing the company of market power and pricing that worsens housing affordability.
Dangote has sought to justify domestic pricing by pointing to Nigeria’s heavy tax burden on manufacturers, arguing that it makes locally sold cement more expensive than exports.
“When you look at my invoice, the cement I export is cheaper than the one I’m selling domestically, because that’s how exports work,” Dangote said earlier this month. “In export I’m saving a lot of money. I’m not paying 30% income tax, I’m not paying 2% education, I’m not paying 1% health, I’m not paying 7.5% VAT, and I’m not paying 10% withholding tax.”
Those explanations, however, have done little to ease public anger, particularly as cement prices have climbed alongside broader inflation and currency weakness. Critics argue that limited competition allows dominant producers to pass rising costs onto consumers with little restraint.
West China Cement’s African expansion, including a potential foothold in South Africa through AfriSam, is seen by some industry watchers as part of a longer-term trend that could introduce more aggressive pricing and capacity competition across the continent. Chinese producers, backed by scale, state-linked financing, and experience operating in highly competitive domestic markets, may be willing to accept thinner margins to gain market share.
AfriSam itself is a major but unlisted South African cement producer, with interests spanning cement, aggregates, and ready-mix concrete. Its shareholders include some of South Africa’s most influential financial institutions, among them the Public Investment Corporation, Nedbank, Standard Bank, FirstRand, and Absa, following years of restructuring. These investors have been exploring exit options, creating an opening for a foreign buyer.
South Africa’s cement market is already crowded, with JSE-listed PPC as the largest domestic producer, alongside Lafarge South Africa, owned by Afrimat, and Sephaku Cement, a subsidiary of Dangote Cement. Persistent oversupply, imports, and subdued construction activity have weighed on profitability, making consolidation increasingly attractive.
The timing of the proposed AfriSam deal also aligns with South Africa’s policy ambitions. President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly outlined plans to position the country as a major construction and infrastructure hub, with increased spending on roads, housing, energy, and logistics expected to support cement demand over the medium term.
If regulators approve the acquisition, West China Cement would gain an established platform in one of Africa’s most industrialized economies. Over the longer term, its expanding African footprint is expected intensify competition with incumbents such as Dangote Cement.