China’s cement output for 2005 rose 9.3 per cent to 1.06bn tons, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement.  
 
The NDRC, the country’s top planning agency, also said that in a bid to step up restructuring and upgrading of the industry, current cement producers will be allowed to expand capacity while small-sized producers with outdated technologies will be phased out.  
 
The entire sector booked total production of CNY268.38bn last year, with total profit at CNY8.05bn, said the NDRC without providing comparative figures.  
 
Actual investment in the industry for 2005 fell 5.1 per cent from a year earlier while contracted investment declined 9.2 per cent.  
 
The top 10 cement producers produced 13.3 per cent of the country’s total output last year, compared with 4.4 per cent in 2000, the commission said.   Among the country’s 5,034 cement producers, 35.95 per cent or 1,851 firms posted net losses in 2005, 8.28 percentage points higher than a year earlier.