Cement giant LafargeHolcim is considering withdrawing from “several markets,” Chairman Beat Hess said, in an effort to make its merger a success, according to Reuters. Lafarge merged with Switzerland’s Holcim last year to form the world’s largest cement group. "We will be present in less countries for sure … Either we succeed in strengthening these operations through targeted investments or we have to see whether other owners could do better,” Hess reportedly said without mentioning where the company might exit. Lafarge has been an investor in Egypt since 2008, employing about 2,500 people, according to the company website.

In other news involving Lafarge: The Egyptian Council of State’s Tax Commission has recommended appealing a decision by the Tax Authority’s Appeals Committee to exempt Orascom Construction from paying back taxes on its USD 12.8 bn sale of its shares in Orascom Cement to Lafarge back in 2007, Al Borsa reports. The commission is recommending that Orascom Construction pay the EGP 7.1 bn it settled with the Tax Authority back in 2014.