Mexican Cements (Cemex) seeks to finance sustainable projects in various areas, for which it established a new framework that allows it to obtain resources through the issuance of green financial instruments.
The cement company, whose industry is by nature one of the most polluting in the world, intends to finance projects related to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, or CO², clean electricity and energy efficiency, clean transportation, water management, air, circular economy and waste management.
The new framework will allow the Monterrey cement company to issue financial instruments in line with the Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Green Credit Principles.
This is related to the construction materials company’s plan to reduce carbon emissions in its operations to 40% by 2030, and reach net zero emissions worldwide in concrete production by 2050.
As part of being a cleaner company in a highly polluting industry, the cement company –which is already one step away from reaching investment grade with the global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings– has actively invested in various sustainability projects. Fitch Ratings recently upgraded the cement company’s rating. Its grade went from A+ to AA- thanks to the improvement in the company’s credit profile. At the end of last year Cemex had a debt of 7,900 million dollars and a year before it was 9,400 million dollars. All to recover the investment grade that it lost a few years ago.
Royal Credita company dedicated to granting loans to small and medium-sized companies, said that two national banks tried to secure assets owned by a trust of the company, whose purpose is to guarantee the payment of the debt with its preferred creditors and other banks.
The company said that this assurance sought to prevent the timely fulfillment of its payment obligations to said preferred creditors.
The company added that as a result of this seizure attempt, some of its officials and former officials were criminally denounced and have assumed their defense, without any judicial pronouncement in this regard to date.
Dave & Buster’san American entertainment and restaurant company, said it is looking for investment partners to develop franchises in the Mexican market.
To meet this objective, Jorge Lizan, the general director of the consulting firm Lizan Retail Advisors, who represents Dave & Buster’s in its search for investors in Mexico, will visit the country together with Antonio Bautista, senior vice president of the company’s international area American, with the aim of meeting with people interested in the project.
Dave & Buster’s has average unit sales of $10.5 million. In addition, it has a disciplined site selection process and a target return of 35% in the first year.
The company operates 146 units in 41 states in the United States, as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico.
Herdez Group became the first company in the food industry in Mexico to place a bond linked to sustainability. Through the issue, which had BBVA Mexico as placement agent, it raised 3,000 million pesos divided into two series.
One of them, for 1,500 million pesos, was placed for a term of 10 years and at a fixed rate of 9.78 percent. Another for the same amount but with a term of 4.5 years, offered a floating rate of TIIE 28 plus 31 base points, registering an oversubscription of 3.9 times with respect to the amount placed.
With this offer, the Mexican company that markets products under brands such as Nestlé, Herdez, McCormick, Nutrisa, among others, committed to reducing water consumption per ton produced by 25% by 2030, considering 100% of its plants and distribution centers in Mexico.
Four years ago, Herdez aligned its sustainability strategy to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include SDG 6 “Clean water and sanitation” and SDG 12 “Responsible production and consumption”.