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Tata Chem in Morocco
The Telegraph — March
24, 2005
Tata Chemicals has joined the growing list of companies from
the Rs 65,000-crore Tata group by going global. The Tata Chemicals
board today approved a decision to acquire a stake as an equal
partner in Indo Maroc Phosphore S.A. (Imacid), Morocco, which
manufactures phosphoric acid. Tata Chemicals is buying shares
from the two existing JV partners for Rs 166 crore ($38 million).
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other approvals.
Tata Chemicals will nominate its representatives on the board
of Imacid as non-executive directors after the agreements
are signed within the next few weeks.
Imacid was promoted in 1997 as a joint venture between Office
Chérifien des Phosphates, Morocco (OCP), a state-owned
company incorporated in the Kingdom of Morocco and Chambal
Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. Imacid commenced production
in 1999. It produced 373,895 tonnes of phosphoric acid in
2004 with a turnover of $144 million and is a well-established
company. India imports 50 per cent of the world's production
of phosphoric acid, which is required for the manufacture
of diammonium phosphate, a higher analysis fertiliser used
extensively in the country.
Morocco is not only the largest exporter of phosphatic rock
in the world but also of phosphoric acid, accounting for over
40 per cent of the world's trade in acid. Managing director
Prasad Menon said Tata Chemicals’ entry into Imacid is
both timely and strategic.
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