Active Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

ICBC provides $166.6 million buyer’s credit loan for Settat Cement Plant Construction Project

$166.6M USD

Funder	Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
Recipient Organization	Anouar Invest
Country	Morocco
Start Date	May 01, 2016
End Date	Jan 24, 2032
Duration	5,746 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`57548`

Grant Description

ICBC provides $166.6 million buyer’s credit loan for Settat Cement Plant Construction Project On December 4, 2015, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Anouar Invest — a private Moroccan company — signed a $171 million financing agreement for the Settat Cement Plant Construction Project.

Then, in May 2016, ICBC, Anouar Invest, and Bank of Africa [formerly the Moroccan Bank of Foreign Commerce, (Arabic: البنك المغربي للتجارة الخارجية‎) or BMCE Bank] signed a tripartite financing agreement for the Settat Cement Plant Construction Project.

ICBC reportedly issued a $166.6 million buyer’s credit loan with an interest rate of 6-month LIBOR (0.933% in May 2016) plus a 3.15% margin. Sinosure reportedly agreed to provide buyer’s credit insurance to the borrower.

The borrower (Anouar Invest) and its subsidiary (Atlantic Ciment S.A.) were to use the loan proceeds to partially finance a $203 million commercial contract with Sinoma-CDI.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reportedly agreed to provide MAD 554.2 million dirhams in financing for the project.

The purpose of the project was to construct a cement plant in the province of Settat with a production capacity of 2.2 million tons of cement per year.

Sinoma-CDI — a consortium that consists of Sinoma International Engineering Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Design & Research Institute of Building Materials Industry Co., Ltd. (CDI) — was the contractor responsible for implementation.

It was originally envisaged that construction would begin during the second half of 2016 and the cement plant would be commissioned in early 2019. However, it does not appear that this project ever reached implementation.

In 2019, Atlantic Ciment S.A. agreed in principle to sell its 100% ownership stake in the project to Ciments du Maroc (CIMAR), which is a Moroccan construction materials company and a subsidiary of Germany's HeidelbergCement. The acquisition was completed in May 2020.

📋 Staff Comments

The Chinese project title is 200万吨水泥厂项目. The French project title is la construction d’une cimenterie dans la province de Settat.
For loan and debt rescheduling records with variable interest rates, AidData calculates the all-in interest rate at T0 based on the reference rate (such as LIBOR or EURIBOR) on the loan start date, plus any known margin. Please see the methodology for additional details.

📚 Sources & References

Johannesburg: Chinese giant ICBC finances Anouar Invest cement plant
Le Groupe Anouar Invest signe a Johannesburg en Marg du Focac une Convention de Financement de son project de cimenterie de Settat pour un montant de 171 millions de dollars avec ICBC, la plus grange banque au monde, “中国—非洲投融资论坛”在南非成功举办, قريبا.. تشييد أكبر مصنع للإسمنت بسطات بتمويل صيني
Atlantic Cement Contract – CDI China
Maroc-Chine _ les banques en première ligne – Jeune Afrique
Anouar Invest signe un accord tripartite avec la banque chinoise et la BMCE Bank pour le financement de sa cimenterie à Settat _ Groupe Anouar Invest
Atlas Ciment_ les détails du financement de la nouvelle cimenterie _ www.le360.ma
Anwar Invest — Wikipédia, “Ciments du Maroc” buys the two Boutgueray cement plants – Dailymorocco
China’s ICFC funds for Morocco’s Atlantic Ciment plant _ Aggregates Business
Morocco - Example transactions - Trinity International LLP
Morocco - Example transactions - Trinity International LLP.pdf
中国—非洲投融资论坛”在南非成功举办－工行风貌－中国工商银行中国网站
Un contrat de financement pour Atlantic Ciment en marge de la visite royale en Chine _ www.le360.ma
Update on Morocco - Cement industry news from Global Cement
Ciments du Maroc completes Atlantic Cement and Cimsud acquisition _ Aggregates Business, https://web.archive.org/web/20160714151043/http://www.archimedia.ma/avis-paroles-dexperts/qualite-management-/20085-atlantic-ciment-signe-avec-les-chinois-une-nouvelle-cimenterie-a-settat, cp_contrat_atlantic_ciment-_cdi_chine_6_eng
Contrat Atlantic Ciment - CDI Chine _ Groupe Anouar Invest, projet_de_communique_12_mai_2016_v4 Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.