Sri Lanka’s Tokyo Cement on roadshow with U.S. funds

July 20, 2016 (LBO) - Members of Sri Lankan cement producer Tokyo Cement's (TKYO SL) management team are in the U.S. this week meeting with global investment funds to discuss the company’s expansion plans. The visit led by CFO Vishwa Kuruwita is the company’s first investor roadshow in the U.S., where the management team is being introduced to global investors by institutional equities broker Decker & Co., which has offices in the U.S. and Asia, a statement said. “Tokyo Cement is an under-researched company with a dominant market position, brand equity built over three decades, and clear growth prospects in light of Sri Lankan infrastructure and building construction projects,” said Mark Decker, founder and CEO of Decker & Co. “We’re honored to introduce the firm’s management to investors seeking high-quality growth opportunities in the region.” Tokyo Cement currently holds a 35 percent market share of the Sri Lankan cement market, with total installed capacity of approximately two million metric tons annually. The company is in the midst of a 50 million dollar production capacity expansion that increases economies of scale and outpaces competitors’ expansions. Also, Tokyo Cement is building a cement grinding plant with one million metric ton annual capacity. The new facility, which is scheduled to begin operations later this year, will increase domestic grinding capacity by 60 percent and is expected to substantially raise gross margins compared to importing raw material for cement manufacturing. The grinding plant is expected to replace approximately 40% of the import volume the company currently brings into the Colombo terminal. Decker & Co. is the USA’s leading Asian Emerging and Frontier specialist broker. The firm partners with leading local brokers across 13 emerging and frontier Asian markets. The firm’s clearing partner is Broadcort, a division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.