With the gradual drop in China’s GDP growth to lower-single figures it has been argued that normality has returned to the world’s second-biggest economy. The cement sector has certainly responded by reeling in excess capacity as well as prioritising operational efficiency and higher environmental standards as the government pushes forward industrial reform.
While the Chinese economy saw steady improvements in 3Q14, full-year GDP growth slipped to 7.4 per cent, down 0.3 percentage points on 2013 and the weakest growth in a quarter of a century. The IMF has forecast GDP expansion of 6.8 per cent in 2015, a rate which is expected to slow further to 6.3 per cent the year after and mark the start of a longer-term cooling of the domestic economy.
