Zürich, 20 April 2017 – Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Joselito A. Jimeno met with Messrs. Christof Hảssig and Etienne Lutz, Head of Corporate Strategy and M&A, and Strategy Development Manager, respectively, of Swiss cement giant LafargeHolcim, to discuss more opportunities for the company’s increased engagement in the Philippines.
Photo (counterclockwise): Mr. Christof Hảssig, Ambassador Joselito A. Jimeno, Consul General Tess Lazaro and Mr. Etienne Lutz
The dinner meeting, which was hosted by LafargeHolcim, provided an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on the company’s business model in the Philippines. The company officials briefed the Philippine side on the company’s newly approved investments in Davao and Luzon to further increase its annual cement production capacity by 2.3mn metric tons. At present, the company’s five plants in the country have an annual production capacity of 8.5mn metric tons of cement.
Mr. Hảssig stated that the Philippines is one of the most promising market of LagfargeHolcim.
Ambassador Jimeno congratulated LafargeHolcim for doing well in the Philippines and commended the company for the programs it undertakes to improve the plight of the communities hosting the company’s plants.
“We hope that LafargeHolcim will be a model for other Swiss companies doing business in the Philippines, particularly in moving forward the training program for young people,” said Ambassador Jimeno.
Ambassador Jimeno also gave Messrs. Hảssig and Lutz a copy of “Build, Build, Build”, the Infrastructure Plan of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, and encouraged them to seriously consider participating in the Administration’s big high-impact projects.
LafargeHolcim is the leading cement manufacturer in the Philippines with over 1,600 workforce employed in its five cement plants in the country located in La Union, Bulacan, Davao, Misamis Oriental and Batangas. Its business center in the country also caters to the other countries in Asia. Ambassador Jimeno was accompanied by Minister and Consul General Maria Theresa S.M. Lazaro. END
