Lafarge Africa, which was bought by Chinese investors from the Swiss Holcim Group last year, has changed its name to HBM Nigeria Plc.
A regulatory filing released on Tuesday shows that the new name fits the company’s long-term plans and its aim to serve stakeholders better.
"The name change received full shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on the 30th of April 2026," the company said in the Nigerian Exchange filing.
"The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has officially approved and issued the Certificate of Incorporation reflecting the name change," it added.
In December 2024, Lafarge Africa announced that Holcim Group signed a deal with Huaxin Cement, based in Wuhan, China, to buy an 83.1 percent stake in the company.
Before it sold its interest in Lafarge Africa, Holcim Group controlled the company through Caricement BV and Associated International Cement Limited.
Regulatory issues, including a Senate order that told the Bureau of Public Procurement to stop the deal last March, delayed the transaction for nine months after it was first announced.
"We cannot afford to wake up one day and realise that our cement industry, one of the backbones of our economy, is entirely in foreign hands," said Shuaib Salisu, the senator from Ogun Central, who raised the issue in the Senate.
The acquisition was worth $1 billion, which is about ₦1.6 trillion, when the deal was completed last August.
The first major project under the new owners is to boost the Ashaka Cement plant’s capacity in Gombe to 2MT and the Shagamu plant to 3.5MT. This was announced earlier this year.
HBM Nigeria assured shareholders that their current share certificates and electronic holdings are still valid, despite the name change. The registrars will update them automatically, the company said.
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