MBABANE – The Eswatini Competition Commission (ESCC) has conditionally approved the acquisition of 100 per cent of AfriSam Eswatini by Singapore-based West International New Building Materials (WINBM).
The competition watchdog-imposed safeguards aimed at preventing the transaction from weakening competition in the country’s cement market.
The transaction, which was notified to the commission on December 17, 2025, was determined by the technical committee of the Board of commissioners on July 8, 2026.
WINBM is an investment company incorporated in Singapore and has no physical presence in Eswatini. However, its group imports cement into the country from Mozambique Dugongo Cimentos SA (Dugongo), a subsidiary through which it participates in the local cement market.
The commission noted that WINBM does not directly or indirectly control any company incorporated under Eswatini law.
AfriSam, meanwhile, is incorporated in South Africa and indirectly wholly owns AfriSam Eswatini.
The local subsidiary operates a cement blending facility in Matsapha and sources bulk cement and other input materials from AfriSam in South Africa.
The proposed acquisition brings together two significant participants in Eswatini’s blended cement market through AfriSam Eswatini and Dugongo.
According to the commission’s assessment, this creates a horizontal overlap in the supply of blended cement.
The competition concerns arose principally from the position held by the two businesses in the market.
The commission found that AfriSam Eswatini and Dugongo are the two leading suppliers of blended cement in Eswatini.
Their combination would, therefore, result in the merged entity commanding a substantial market share and becoming the dominant player in the relevant market.
The secretariat’s analysis further found that the merger was likely to significantly increase market concentration, raising concerns about potential unilateral effects.
In particular, the commission was concerned that the increased market power of the merged entity could allow it to independently increase prices, reduce output or lower the quality of services without being sufficiently constrained by competitors. Despite these concerns, the technical committee determined that the structure of the relevant market would not change upon implementation of the transaction.
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