Regulator fights tycoon’s plan in cement price war

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Regulator fights tycoon’s plan in cement price war
Narendra_Raval_Guru_Founder_and_Group_Chairman_Devki_Group_of_Companies_0.jpg

The Competition Authority of Kenya has warned the government against implementing a proposal by billionaire industrialist Narendra Raval to raise the import duty on clinker, a raw material used in cement production, from 10% to 25%. Mr. Raval has been lobbying the government to raise the taxes, arguing that the country now has enough capacity to meet its clinker needs. But the competition watchdog says the proposal is a self-serving move on the part of Devki which has a near-monopoly on the means of manufacturing clinker, adding that it risks shutting down rival plants and rising cement prices.

In a past interview with Forbes, he said he would donate half of his fortune, estimated to be over $400 million, to charity.

“I have decided in my will that I don’t want to go on keeping the money for myself. I will keep 50% for my children, and the other 50% will go to charity in Kenya,” he said.
 
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