JSW Cement pushes IPO plans by a year, now targets listing in 2021

JSW Cement has pushed back its plans for an initial public offering by a year, amidst a slowdown that has also forced it to rework its growth plans.

The company, part of the $14 billion JSW Steel Group, has originally planned to list on the exchanges by December 2020.

The listing has been delayed by 12 months, said Managing Director Parth Jindal, while addressing media in Mumbai on November 27.

The delay, he added, is linked to the new expansion road map that the company outlined.

JSW Cement, which at present can produce 14 million tons of cement in a year, plans to expand the capacity to 25 million tonnes a year, by 2023.

"The growth will happen in two phases. Earlier, the first phase - which entailed capacity increase to 20 million tonnes a year - was to get over in 2020. That will now be done in 2021," said Jindal.

In the second phase, the company hopes to expand capacity to 25 million tonnes by 2023.

The listing is linked to the first phase, because the expansion will help reach a critical mass, he added.

JSW Cement is at present the ninth largest cement maker in the country, and will take place among the top five once its expansion is over.