(Yicai) Dec. 2 -- Shares of Huaxin Cement advanced after the Chinese cement producer said it plans to acquire a controlling stake in a Nigerian peer for about USD838 million.

Huaxin Cement [SHA: 600801] was trading up 4.5 percent at CNY13.56 (USD1.87) as of lunch break in Shanghai today.

Huaxin Cement will buy an 83.8 percent stake in Lafarge Africa through two subsidiaries to expand its presence in the West African market and further enhance its operational scale and profitability, the Hubei province-based company announced yesterday.

Established in 1959, Lafarge mainly produces and sells construction materials. It operates four large cement plants and six concrete plants in Nigeria. It can produce 10.6 million tons of cement and 400,000 cubic meters of concrete annually.

Nigeria has significant economic development potential and a favorable cement market with promising prospects, so it can become a key stronghold for Huaxin Cement's expansion in West Africa, the firm added.

Huaxin Cement has been actively expanding overseas in recent years because demand in the Chinese construction material industry has been declining, mainly due to the downtrend in the domestic real estate industry.

The company's overseas sales of cement and clinker soared 41 percent to 12.05 million tons in the first three quarters of the year from a year earlier. Its net profit and revenue jumped 32 percent and 49 percent to CNY850 million (USD117 million) and CNY5.9 billion (USD812.4 million), respectively.

As of Sept. 30, Huaxin Cement had established a cement production network across 12 countries, reaching an overseas clinker production capacity of over 15.4 million tons a year and a cement grinding capacity of more than 22.5 million tons.

Editor: Futura Costaglione