24 September 2018
ARM Cement looking for buyer of Kigali Cement plant 24 September 2018
Rwanda: Kenya’s ARM Cement is set to auction off its Kigali Cement plant in Nyarugenge District for a second time, following a first attempt. The company forced a legal postponement to the first auction when offers for the unit failed to reach a level it deemed acceptable, according to the New Times newspaper. The only bid it received was for US$113,000 a figure significantly short of the estimate US$1.4m market value of the plant. Kigali Cement operates a 0.1Mt/yr plant.
Kigali Cement plant is being sold in order to pay its creditor, Rwanda Enterprise Investment Company (REIC) in a long running dispute between the companies. ARM Cement owns Kigali Cement but REIC has held shares in it since 2008. ARM Cement acquired a stake in Kigali Cement in 2010 and later took over the management of the company in 2014. Meanwhile, ARM Cement entered administration at home in Kenya in late August 2018.
Indian cement producers complain about Pakistani imports 24 September 2018
India: Shailendra Chouksey, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association, has complained about imports of cement from Pakistan damaging the local industry. He told the Indo-Asian News Service that cement from Pakistan was up to 15% cheaper than Indian cement. There has been no customs duty on cement imports from Pakistan since 2007, making it competitive in comparison to local production, especially in states that neighbour Pakistan. By comparison, imports of cement to Pakistan face a duty of 11%.
Data from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade shows that 1.68Mt of cement was imported into India during the 2017 – 2018 financial year that ended in March 2018. 1.27Mt or 76% of this total was imported from Pakistan.
Indian producers have also complained about the high rate of the local Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country. They are hoping to reduce the rate to 18% from 28% at present.
Egyptian cement exports crippled by energy prices 24 September 2018
Egypt: Medhat Istvanos, head of the cement division of the Chamber of Building Materials, affiliated to the Federation of Egyptian Industries, says that exports from the country are being made uncompetitive due to the government’s decision to raise energy prices in June 2018. He said that the local exchange rate had aided exports but that “the government’s bureaucracy has eliminated export hopes,” according to the Daily News Egypt newspaper. The local industry exported cement worth US$57m during the first half of 2018.
Istvanos said that the industry has a production capacity utilization rate of 60% with a production capacity of 84Mt/yr but consumption of only 54Mt/yr. He added that the decision to build the new 12Mt/yr Beni Suef cement plant was “not based on precise information” and that it had harmed local production.
Sales at Ciment du Maroc down in first half of 2018 24 September 2018
Morocco: Cement sales volumes at Ciment du Maroc have fallen by 2.6% year-on-year in the first half of 2018. This compares to a decline of 2.9% in national consumption, according to local media. Its operating turnover fell by 4.2% to Euro449m. The subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement also noted that it was happy with the progress of its Nador grinding plant project.
Filipino government starts cement import probe 24 September 2018
Philippines: Trade Secretary Ramon M Lopez has started an investigation studying whether the government should protect the local cement industry, following a rise in imports. A review by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) found that imports grew by 70% year-on-year in 2014, 4391% in 2015; 549% in 2016 and 72% in 2017, according to the Business Mirror newspaper. However, the market share of imports grew from 0.02% in 2013 to 15% in 2017, leading to claims that increasing imports are damaging local production.
The review contends that the domestic industry's sales revenue increased from 2013 to 2016 but that it declined by 12% in 2017. Industry earnings fell in 2017 following growth. The DTI paper also claims that the cost of cement imports is around 14% lower than local product and that this has led to local producers dropping their prices by 10% to compete.