Cemex removes JLP 'fee' payment from US filing
Published:Sunday | October 19, 2025 | 12:05 AM
Cemex, the ultimate parent company of Caribbean Cement Company, has amended an earlier filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission which had disclosed a payment described as “fees” of over US$201,500 to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, JLP.
The payment was listed as a “fee” under “Payments to Government” filings for the year 2024 in the disclosure to the Commission on September 29.
However in an amendment filed on October 17 Cemex removed references to the JLP and the fee.
“The sole purpose of this Amendment No 1 is to r-+vise the disclosures for the amount of fees paid to certain foreign governments” read a section under the heading ‘explanatory note’.
Cemex, an international construction materials company based in Mexico, routinely publishes payments made to governments in countries where it operates. The company is said to have a presence in more than 50 countries.
In its notes on Jamaica, Cemex stated: “Payments made at the national level are generally non-specific to a particular project and are therefore not assigned to a project at the project-level disclosure”.
Under “Government Authority” the filing also listed payments to the National Water Commission, Tax Administration Jamaica, Jamaica Customs Agency, and the Commissioner of Mines.
Overall, the “ payments to governments made by Cemex during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024”, included US$24 million to Jamaica – 62 per cent in taxes, 35 per cent in fees, and the remainder in royalties. The removal reduces the total to US$23,870,430.
The ‘Payments to Government’ document does not attribute any Jamaica-based “fee” payments to Cemex subsidiaries. All such payments – including those to government agencies and the JLP – were listed under the parent company, Cemex SAB de CV.
“Below shows the payments to governments made by Cemex during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024, disclosed by country and payment type,” the report stated.
Cemex’s corporate office did not respond to requests for comment.
Prior to the removal, for its part, Caribbean Cement said it has made contributions to “major political parties in Jamaica” in support of “Jamaica’s democratic process”.
“These contributions were made in full compliance with the Representation of the People Act, and all relevant documentation has been duly submitted to the respective parties,” the company added, but declined to indicate the amounts contributed.
The Kingston-based cement manufacturer also declined to comment directly on the Cemex payment and referred all questions to its parent company.
“It is important to emphasize that Caribbean Cement has not entered any contract with the Government of Jamaica that would require reporting to the Electoral Commission of Jamaica under current regulations. While Carib Cement is a subsidiary within the Cemex global network, both companies operate with distinct governance structures and decision-making processes, fully aligned with local laws and corporate best practices,” Caribbean Cement told the Financial Gleaner.
General Secretary and Deputy Leader of the JLP, Dr Horace Chang, had not responded to earlier requests for comment.