North East back in spotlight as UltraTech buys star stake
Dalmia Bharat Group Managing Director, Puneet Dalmia, marked the formal entry of a national cement company into the Northeast when he unveiled the brand, which carries his family name, at a Guwahati indoor stadium on the eve of the winter Bihu.
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And late last month, industry leader UltraTech announced its intention to acquire a non-controlling, minority stake in Star Cement, in a largely mountainous and sparsely populated territory, setting off talk about rekindled national interest in the highly profitable region.
'National' presence in the Northeast, until Dalmia Bharat harnessed two back-to-back acquisitions of Adhunik and Calcom Cement in 2011-12 to build a local manufacturing beachhead, was largely in the shape of episodic dispatches from what traders called the 'mainland'. Kolkata-based Star remains a dominant player in the freight-intensive territory that continues to present a very different set of operational challenges — relative to other geographies — in India's regionally structured cement industry that's the second largest on the planet.
Demand in the region, which has significant strategic importance to India, continues to outstrip sales elsewhere — and by a wide margin.
«Cement demand has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8-9% over FY19-24 versus pan-India's 5-6%
