Vietnam will bring nationwide cement prices in line with regional rates at the beginning of 2006, the Ministry of Construction said. 
 
Locally made cement currently sells for US$45-55/t while Thai cement costs US$65 . Vietnamese producers are finding ways to cut production and transportation costs to keep the new prices competitive compared with other countries in the region. 
 
In the first nine months of this year, Vietnamese cement industry produced almost 13Mt more than double the amount put out a decade ago, but locally produced cement met only 45 per cent of domestic demand. 
 
Currently, the country has to import about 4.5Mt of clinker a year. Local producers expect that by 2007 the country will no longer need to import cement as several cement factories are scheduled to open at the end of 2005.
 
The state-owned Vietnam Cement Corporation, the country’s largest cement producer, is planning to equitize its affiliated companies to raise more capital for cement production by the end of this year.