LONDON (Standard&Poor's) March 7, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Switzerland-based cement and heavy building materials manufacturer Holcim Ltd. (BBB+/Stable/A-2) remain unchanged following the group's announcement that it will increase its stake in leading Chinese cement producer Huaxin Cement Co. Ltd. (HCC) to more than 50% from 26%. The acquisition will cost Holcim about $425 million, bringing the group's acquisitions spend for the year to date to nearly $1.5 billion. Nevertheless, the group is expected to underlie these acquisitions with a substantial portion of equity, which should allow Holcim to improve credit ratios as expected by the end of 2006. We expect Holcim to remain strongly committed to reaching funds from
