PPC seeks wider expansion as Zim ownership plan slows investment_Pretoria Portland Cement Co. (PPC), Africa’s largest producer of the building material, said Zimbabwe’s plan to regulate ownership in favor of its locals has hurt business confidence and slowed investment.

Zimbabwe wants to introduce a law that requires foreign companies to sell 51 percent of their businesses to Zimbabwean citizens, in order to broaden participation in the economy.

“Cement pricing is expected to remain under pressure for the remainder of the year,” the company said in a statement today. South African demand will probably decline this year, it said.

Overall cement volumes in the six months ended March 31 fell 8 percent even as sales in Zimbabwe more than trebled, PPC said. South African deliveries slipped 15 percent because of weak homebuilding and the slow release of government infrastructure projects, the Sandton, South Africa-based company said.

PPC said it will decelerate some of its planned capital spending because of lower demand, though the company will continue to seek expansion beyond South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

“The strategy to expand the business beyond its existing geographical boundaries will continue to receive significant management attention,” PPC said.

Net income rose to 551 million rand ($73 million), or 114.6 cents a share, in the six-month period, from 103 million rand, or 20.6 cents a share, a year earlier, the company said. Sales advanced 5 percent to 3.42 billion rand.