Displaying items by tag: Asia

China: China Resources Building Materials Technology expects its full-year profit to have dropped by 62 – 72% year-on-year in 2024, Reuters has reported. This would correspond to a gross profit of US$579 – 786m, compared to US$2.07bn in 2023. The producer attributed the anticipated decline to ‘lower gross margins’ in its various businesses.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement's sales declined by 0.8% year-on-year to US$1.09bn in the first nine months of the 2025 financial year. Nonetheless, the producer succeeded in raising its pre-tax profit, by 16%, to US$44.9m. The company forecasts full-year sales of US$1.47bn (up by 0.6%) and profit of US$54.4m (down by 2%), maintaining previous estimates.

India: Shree Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Karnataka to invest nearly US$1bn in cement manufacturing facilities over the next five years. The producer will build a cement plant in the city of Kalaburagi, with 3.5Mt/yr of clinker capacity and 3Mt/yr of cement capacity, for US$288m. The plant will create 300 jobs and start production in 2025.

Shree Cement will build a second plant nearby, in the Kalaburagi district. The plant will have a clinker capacity of 3.5Mt/yr and an eventual cement capacity of 6Mt/yr, to be commissioned in two phases. It will create 750 jobs and cost US$575m. Commissioning is scheduled for 2030.

The last project planned is for a clinker grinding plant in the district of Bangalore Rural, with a capacity of 3Mt/yr and a cost of US$98m. The facility will create 250 jobs and begin production in 2028.

Shree Cement has stated that it is ‘committed to sustainable development’ and will ‘incorporate advanced technologies to ensure environmentally friendly operations.’

India: Titan Cement Group has entered the South Asian market through a joint venture with India-based supplementary cementitious materials producer JAYCEE. The producer will hold a majority stake in the new company Atlas EcoSolutions. The venture will source, process, market and distribute supplementary cementitious materials globally in order to help its customers build sustainable construction projects using alternatives to clinker-based cement.

Head of supply chain and energy development Jean-Philippe Benard said "This joint venture aligns perfectly with our strategy to remain at the forefront of low-carbon building materials and highlights our unwavering commitment to sustainability and innovation. Entering the South Asian market positions us in a region with vast potential, both in market demand and sustainability impact. Securing long-term access to SCMs provides Titan Group a key alternative for strategically diversifying its portfolio with new low-carbon cements."

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement recorded net sales of US$4.4bn, up by 3% year-on-year, from 1 April 2024 to December 2024. Sales were US$4.3bn in the corresponding period of 2023.

The company’s financial report stated “During the nine months ended 31 December 2024, the Japanese economy showed a moderate recovery trend, partly due to the effect of various government policies under an improving employment and income situation. However, the outlook remained uncertain due to factors such as the protracted situation in Ukraine and continued yen depreciation.”

It also stated that domestic cement demand was affected by multiple factors, such as a labour shortage, the adoption of a five-day week for the construction industry and a shortage of lightweight aggregates. It reported that demand decreased 6% year-on-year to 25.15Mt, of which imported cement increased 26% year-on-year to 10,000t. Total exports increased by 25% year-on-year to 6.24Mt. The group’s domestic cement sales volume decreased by 5% year-on-year to 9.52Mt, with exports increasing by 22% to 2.4Mt. Its cement businesses in US, Vietnam and the Philippines all also saw a decrease in sales volumes.

Myanmar: The government will allow coal imports for cement plants from February 2025 in order to increase production, according to local news reports. Cement plants which need coal can apply for an import licence. The country's 16 private and three state-run cement plants produce less than 8Mt/yr, while national consumption exceeds 10Mt/yr, requiring cement plants to operate at full capacity.

Türkiye: Cement producer Karcimsa Cement said that it will invest US$30m in a 1Mt/yr clinker and granulated slag grinding facility in Kayseri.

The plant will produce ‘green’ cement with low carbon emissions, according to chair of Karcimsa, Soner Ozbey.

Back in March 2024, Türkiye imposed restrictions on cement to expand the use of low-carbon cement in public procurement contracts from 2025.

"The clinker/cement ratio in the cement to be used in public investments will be a maximum of 0.80 as of 2025 and this ratio will decrease to 0.75 by 2030," Karcimsa said.

The company will reportedly procure slag from Kardemir to be used in production.

Karcimsa is a joint venture between Turkish steel firm Kardemir and concrete producer Beycim Beton Sanayi.

Japan: Sumitomo Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with US-based Fortera to conduct a feasibility study to build a low-carbon cement plant. The project will be run with subsidiary Sumitomo Osaka Cement. The aim is to then build a pilot plant in Japan by the 2026 financial year. Sumitomo Corporation is also considering expanding the business model developed in Japan to other parts of Asia.

Tajikistan: The Ministry of Industry and New Technologies has blamed falling cement production in Tajikistan on growth in production in neighbouring Uzbekistan. It also noted rising output in Afghanistan, according to Asia-Plus. Local production fell by 2% year-on-year to 4.35Mt in 2024 from 4.46Mt in 2023. Ministry data shows that exports of cement from Tajikistan dropped by 30% to 0.29Mt from 0.66Mt. In November 2024 Uzbekistan sharply increased customs clearance fees on Tajik cement to US$300/t from US$35/t.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement’s net sales fell by 15% year-on-year to US$453m in the nine months to 31 December 2024 from US$534m in the same period in 2023. Its sales volumes of cement dropped by 9% to 6.44Mt from 7.06Mt. Its profit after tax decreased to US$25.6m from US$32.2m.