Cemex Ends Silence on Trump Wall, Says Willing to Supply Cement

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's biggest cement maker said it would be willing to provide supplies for the U.S. border wall proposed by President Donald Trump, ending months in which the company declined to comment on the potential project.

Cemex SAB would offer a price quote to any contractors looking to buy cement for the barrier, Chairman Rogelio Zambrano told Reforma newspaper. With plants on both sides of the border, Cemex would be well positioned to compete for building-materials contracts. 

During Trump's first address to Congress late Tuesday, he renewed a promise to kick off construction of a “great, great wall” on the southern border. The project, which is estimated to cost $15 billion or more, has roiled U.S. relations with Mexico, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a trip to Washington earlier this year after Trump vowed to make Mexico pay for the wall.

Cemex climbed 4.3 percent to 17.74 pesos at 11:18 a.m. in Mexico City after advancing as much as 4.6 percent for the biggest intraday gain in a month.

The Monterrey, Mexico-based company said it hadn't been approached by any potential customers looking to buy cement for the wall.

“As of today, there aren't technical details about the work and no one's approached us about participating,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “If one of our clients asks us to give prices on materials, we have the responsibility to provide it, but it doesn't imply Cemex would participate in the project.”

Cemex got a quarter of last year's sales from the U.S., its biggest market. It also has a large operation in Mexico selling bagged cement to individual consumers, while also supplying major construction projects.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle F. Davis in Mexico City at mdavis194@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Arie Shapira at ashapira3@bloomberg.net, Bruce Rule