Cement News tagged: International
Shriram EPC to enter cement business through acquisition
Shriram EPC, part of the financial services major Shriram Group, is expected to enter the Indian cement sector by picking up a majority stake in Sree Jayajothi Cement, according to local press reports. Should the move be approved, Cimpor is thought to be in line as the group seeks a strategic European investor. Shriram EPC's board is said to have approved acquiring a significant equity shar...
High input costs impact HeidelbergCement India 4Q
HeidelbergCement India posted lower-than-expected results on the back of a sharp rise in input costs. However, the company’s exposure to the Central and Western regions, where demand remains strong, stands it in good stead. The company’s topline increased by 36 per cent YoY and 25 per cent QoQ to INR2570m, it recorded a net loss of INR18m in the fourth quarter of the 2011 calendar year. ...
Brazil: 12-month accumulated sales up 7.6%
Preliminary data and market estimates show that domestic cement sales in Brazil for the accumulated 12 months from February 2011 to January 2012 reached 64Mt. This represents an increase of 7.6 per cent over the same period a year earlier (February 2010 to January 2011). In January 2012, sales were 5.2Mt, up 4.1 per cent on the same month of last year, data from the Sindicato Nacional da...
Al Jouf raises Saudi Arabia selling prices
Saudi Arabian cement producer, Al Jouf Cement, says it has increased cement prices by 30 per cent to SAR260/t (US$69, however, a dispute with Saudi Aramco could mean prices will continue the upward trend. Al Jouf Cement's move to raise prices comes on the back of the government's ban on exports announced last week. Saudi Arabia said it would halt exports of cement and clinker to prevent sh...
Gresik establishes subsidiary to run coal mining business, Indonesia
PT Semen Gresik has established a new subsidiary to run its coal mining and processing business with a total investment of IDR500m (US$55m), reports the Jakarta Post. The establishment of SGG Energi Prima is part of the company’s strategic measures to secure an energy supply for its cement factories, according to Gresik president director Dwi Soetjipto. "Semen Gresik as a group is facing...
Holcim sees 20% rise in production capacity from new plant, Indonesia
Holcim Indonesia, the country’s third largest cement producer, says its new plant in Tuban, East Java, will increase the company’s domestic cement capacity by 20 per cent, the Jakarta Globe reports. “We’re projecting production capacity in Tuban of up to 1.7Mta," Holcim’s relationship management director, Rusli Setiawan, said. Holcim currently has a production capacity of 8.3Mta from its ex...
Dangote Cement – Africa market expansion
Dangote Cement, Africa’s biggest producer of the building material, last week inaugurated its Ibese plant in southwestern Nigeria. The occasion marks a significant milestone for Nigeria, as the country moves closer to becoming a net exporting nation – something that was inconceivable even five years ago. Meanwhile, Dangote Cement continues to expand its domestic production base with major new ...
Spanish consumption falls to 1987 levels
Spanish cement consumption fell to 1.1Mt in January 2012, representing a 23.5 per cent decline than the same month of last year, latest figures from Spanish cement association Oficimen show. Cement production was 1.4Mt, a 17.26 per cent decline over January 2011. Looking at the past 12 months (February 2011 - January 2012), the decline in production was slightly over 17% to 21.7Mt, while co...
Vietnam Ministry toughens stance on cement projects
Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction is to temporarily delay work on several approved cement projects, Le Van Toi, the director of the ministry’s Construction Materials Department. Projects must follow the cement industry development strategy 2011-20, ratified by the Prime Minister last year, and must also be agreed upon by the ministry’s managerial body. Toi said the ministry had recently s...
Tanzania Portland Cement output hit by power crisis
Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) said production rose by just three per cent last year instead of the forecasted eight per cent due to a power crisis. TPCC managing director, Pascal Lesoinne, during a meeting with Dr Cyril Chami, Minister for Industry and Trade, hailed the short term measure of installing emergency power generators but called for long term strategies to ensure stabil...
Macquarie keeps China demand growth at six per cent
Macquarie has kept its six per cent demand growth forecast for China's cement industry but has reduced its net supply growth forecast from four per cent to 1.4 per cent. "We remain positive on a 12-month view, given limited supply and compelling valuations even on our lower-than-consensus earnings forecasts." The house says that sector names have risen 10-40 per cent year-to-date as inve...
Jidong Cement to buy controlling holder's assets, China
Tangshan Jidong Cement announced it would buy the use right of part of land, ownership of houses and supporting facilities rented by it currently from its controlling shareholder Jidong Development Group, reports SinoCast. The listed company also will buy the ownership of an office building, Beijing Representative Office and Jidong Development Students Apartment and supporting facitlies, cove...
Saudi Cement to restart line No 6 in May
Saudi Cement announced that it will restart its sixth kiln line in May this year at the latest after upgrade work is completed. The company has been working on improving the 4000tpd line’s environmental efficiency as well as converting the kiln’s energy source to crude oil from gas, as per Saudi Aramco’s directions. At the same time, the company will restart three old production lines with a ...
Shanghai Allied Cement joint venture, China
Allied Cement said Shanghai Allied Cement (SAC) agreed to set up a 50-50 joint venture with Shanghai Building Material (Group) General Company aiming at commencing construction of the Bailonggang Project in Shanghai by the end of 2012. The total investment of the joint venture CNY1.98bn and registered capital joint venture will be CNY800m. Shanghai Building Material and Shanghai SAC agreed ...
Egypt to announce fresh round of licences
A new round of licence bidding for greenfield cement plants in Egypt will get underway within the next three months. A representative of the minister of trade and industry announced that the government will issue 14 licences for the construction of new cement plants, with priority being given to Egyptian bidders.
Zambia: US$500m Dangote Cement works on course
Construction work on the US$500m Dangote Cement plant in Masaiti district, Zambia, is progressing well and will be completed on schedule, according to Kampew Nundwe, Dangote’s logistics manager. In an interview from Lusaka at the weekend, Mr Nundwe said construction works were on course and the plant was set for completion in the next 27 months. The plant's cement capacity will be 1.5Mta ...