Mohammed Amirul Haque, director of Premier Cement Co, has said that since there was a construction boom in Bangladesh, the demand for cement and clinker was high, but domestic production met only 15 per cent of it. Bangladesh imported 10-15Mt of cement and clinker a year at a cost of US$500 million, and this was forecast to double in the next few years, he told Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review).

Peakward Enterprises Hong Kong has been facilitating cement and clinker exports from Vietnam over the past two years. This year it enabled Hoang Phat Vissai Group to ship 1.2Mt of clinker worth more than $40 million to Bangladesh out of Vietnam. Peakward had also promoted export of clinker by Hoang Phat Vissai to Japan and other Asian countries.

With the Vietnamese cement market expected to see bitter competition in the next few years when supply outstrips domestic demand, the Ministry of Construction wants businesses to strengthen exports.