The speed of China’s cement industry restructuring was always going to be a drawn-out affair. The scale of the market and ambitious modernisation plans of a government intent on reshaping the industry in a relatively short space of time have presented challenges, but there is no turning back and reform is well underway as the country’s legendary cement market matures.
At its economic work conference in December 2012, the Chinese government labelled its 2013 monetary stance as ‘prudent’ and its fiscal policy as ‘proactive’. In all honesty, the government has seen sluggish economic growth since early 2012 when Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis started to impact its exports. The official national strategy has since been to “make progress while maintaining stability”.
