WESTCHINACEMENT (02233) rose more than 7% during the morning session. At the time of writing, the stock was up 5.59%, trading at HK$3.01 with a turnover of HK$48.237 million.

According to reports, the Botswana Competition and Consumer Authority recently announced that Chinese cement producer WESTCHINACEMENT has initiated the acquisition of South Africa's AfriSam. The authority has invited stakeholders to submit comments, either in support of or opposition to, this proposed merger.

The public consultation period is expected to conclude within ten days, while financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The acquirer will be WESTCHINACEMENT's subsidiary, West International New Building Materials.

This acquisition highlights the trend of Chinese industrial groups accelerating their expansion into the African market amidst slowing domestic demand. AfriSam is described as a major South African cement producer that is not publicly listed.

Its shareholders include several of South Africa's most influential financial institutions. Following years of restructuring, major shareholders now hold significant stakes, including Africa's largest asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation, as well as banks such as Nedbank, Standard Bank, FirstRand, and Absa. These investors have reportedly been seeking exit strategies for their partial holdings.