Cement News tagged: International
Qatar consumption forecast to double by FY17
Cement consumption in Qatar is expected to double from current levels within the next three years, a new report has forecast. Dubai-based financial services firm Arqaam Capital said in its report on Qatar’s cement sector released this week that consumption will be driven by heavy government infrastructure spending. Citing various official data, the report said Qatar is expected to open u...
Turkish majors eye LafargeHolcim divestment opportunities
Turkish cement producer are keen on acquisition opportunities that may arise from the Lafarge and Holcim merger, according to reports by Reuters. Oyak, the largest cement producer in Turkey, said it had started talks with international investment banks for possible acquisitions, and had US$3bn in cash allocated for opportunities arising from the merger. Meanwhile, Limak Holding's cement grou...
Congo Rep to benefit from rising investment
The Republic of Congo is increasingly attracting foreign investment into its cement industry. By 2016 three further cement plants are expected to come online as the government aims to expand the country’s production base. Morocco-based CIMAF plans to build a cement works in Kouilou, Nigeria’s Dangote in Bouenza and India-headquartered Diamond Cement in Pool. With 4m inhabitants, Congo’s cur...
Moody's assigns a Baa3 rating to Votorantim Cimentos proposed notes due 2021; outlook stable
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa3 rating to the proposed up to EUR750m seven-year senior unsecured notes to be issued by Votorantim Cimentos SA. The outlook for the ratings is stable. “Votorantim Cimentos' Baa3 ratings reflect primarily the company's leading position in the Brazilian cement market, strong credit metrics, adequate liquidity, as well as its large scale and integrat...
Shree on course with capacity drive, India
Shree Cement is on course with its expansion drive to raise cement capacity to 20Mta by 2015 with two new projects currently under implementation. The company, which already has a strong presence in northern India, is setting up an integrated unit in the central state of Chhattisgarh due for commissioning in 2015. Meanwhile, to tap growing consumption in the eastern market it is also setting...
Semen Indonesia first-quarter sales rise 3.5%
PT Semen Indonesia, the country’s leading cement producer, sold 6.16Mt of cement to the domestic market during Jan-March 2014, a 3.5 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. During the first three months of this year, Indonesian consumption increased by 3.7 per cent, a much slower rate compared to the 8.6 per cent growth registered in 1Q13. The 1Q14 slowdown was partly attribu...
Cemex delivers 640 new homes as part of Colombian affordable housing initiative
Cemex announced Tuesday that it has completed 640 apartments in Colombia as part of a 3000-unit urbanisation project being undertaken by the company in collaboration with the country's government. The full project comprises 3,000 apartments divided into 96 towers of four stories each. The complexes will include recreational and green areas. The paving for the complex will be done with concret...
Welcome to Washington DC
The 56th IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference has officially welcomed over 980 registered delegates to Washington DC for five days of discussions under the theme of “Sustainable strength through innovation.” The IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference underway at the Gaylord Convention Center, Washington DC Ted Richardson officially opens conferenc...
Peru: market expands 1.35% in 1Q14
In March, the Peruvian cement market remained broadly stable from 815,317t in February to 814,495t, according to domestic cement association, Asocem. Output from local producers increased 1.4 per cent from 832,275t the previous month to 844,301t and exports rose 8.1 per cent from 15,349t in February to 16,599t. Between Jan-Mar 2014, cement shipments in Peru totalled 2,453,948t, a YoY i...
US February shipments – preliminary data
Total shipments of blended cement in the US and Puerto Rico in February 2014 including imports reached 4.73Mt, preliminary data from the USGS show. Domestic shipments totalled 4.37Mt for the month while imports amounted to 359,856t. Shipments over the Jan-Feb 2014 reached 9.56Mt, the statistics released yesterday reveal. Meanwhile, clinker production stood at 4Mt in February. For the first ...
LEOCEM to begin slag cement production
Sierra Leone Cement Corporation (LEOCEM), a subsidiary of the HeidelbergCement Group, has announced that it would begin producing slag cement from June this year. Head of Laboratory at LEOCEM, Victor John Cole, made the announcement during the launch of the company’s 20th anniversary celebration at the factory in Cline Town, Freetown, Agence de Presse Africaine reported. LEOCEM is the only p...
Huaxin Cement positive 1Q profit alert, China
Huaxin Cement Co Ltd anticipates net profit for 1Q14 to increase by 350-400 per cent YoY, compared with a profit of CNY25.74m in the corresponding period of 2013, the company said. The Hubei Province-based company, part of the Holcim group, attributes the profit growth to increasing cement product sales and prices.
Ambuja to invest internal funds for expansion
Ambuja Cements, part of the Holcim group, plans to spend around INR8bn (US4133m) in 2014 from internal funds to partially finance its ongoing capacity expansion projects. "The year 2014 will see capital expenditure worth INR802 crore over and above INR725 crore investment made in 2013. The entire proposed expenditure will be financed by internal accruals," Ambuja Cements said in its annual r...
Paraguay: INC to expand mill capacity
Paraguay’s Industria Nacional de Cemento (INC) plans to launch a bid to expand the production capacity of its mill and therefore, increase the plant’s capacity by more than 8000 bags per day. Although the project has an undisclosed budget, Jorge Mendez, head of the state-owned company, said it would be funded through equity. The increase in the mill’s capacity would complement the new b...
Saudi Cement: first-quarter net profit declines
Saudi Cement Co posted a 16 per cent decline in net profit for the first three months of this year due to lower domestic demand and losses from an associate company. The Saudi-based cement producer reported a profit of SAR286m (US$76.3m) in the three months to 31 March, down from SAR340m in the corresponding period of 2013, the company said in a bourse statement. The decline was attributed t...
Indonesia 1Q14 sales growth slows
Indonesian cement consumption slowed during the first quarter of this year despite a strong rebound in March sales, latest data by the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI) shows. For the first three months of the year, demand rose by 3.7 per cent YoY to 14.08Mt compared to 13.58Mt in the comparative period of 2013. However, annual growth in the 1Q13 was much higher at 8.6 per cent. Accord...