Displaying items by tag: China
Vietnam: Brokerage company Mirae Asset Securities Vietnam (MASVN) expects cement producers that specialise in exports to switch to the domestic market due to reduced demand in China. The export market to China has slowed down due its Zero-Covid policy and a reduced real estate market, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Major local exporters include Vissai Ninh Binh, Hoang Mai and Thanh Thang. China accounted for 40% of Vietnam’s cement exports in 2021. If these companies switch to the local market then it is expected to create more competition for producers that are more domestically aligned, including Vicem Ha Tien, FICO and Holcim Vietnam
Maweni Limestone joins the World Cement Association
29 June 2022Tanzania/UK: Maweni Limestone has joined the World Cement Association (WCA) as a Corporate Member. The cement producer is based in Tanzania and it has a production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr. In 2020 it was acquired and reconstructed by China-based Huaxin Cement.
“We are delighted to welcome Maweni Limestone among our membership, as one of WCA’s key ambitions is to more effectively engage emerging-market players across the global cement ecosystem” explains Ian Riley, the chief executive officer of the WCA.
Cement sector CO2 emissions double in 20 years
23 June 2022World: The total volume of CO2 emissions released during cement production have more than doubled over the past 20 years, a study has revealed. In 2021 CO2 emissions from the manufacture of cement came to 2.6Bnt, more than 7% of all emissions, according to Robbie Andrew, a greenhouse gas emissions scientist at the CICERO Center for Climate Research in Norway and the Global Carbon Project. In 2001 the CO2 emissions from cement production were just 1.2Bnt.
Driven by China, the global cement sector’s CO2 emissions have now more than tripled in the 30 years since 1992, recently increasing by 2.6% a year. The drivers are not just that more cement is being made, but that the CO2 intensity of production has risen by 9.2% per tonne, according to the International Energy Agency. This is due to a switch from production in mature markets to developing ones, with China again a dominant factor.
Zimbabwe: Germany-based Gebr. Pfeiffer says that a new MVR 3070 C-4 mill for cement grinding is due to be commissioned at Holcim Zimbabwe’s integrated plant at Manresa near Harare. The order was handled by the Chinese contractor CBMI.
The roof at the plant collapsed over a cement mill in October 2021 leading to a reduction in production volumes at the plant. The mills were restarted in February 2022 but one of the one of the existing cement ball mills was decommissioned. This mill is being replaced by the new vertical roller mill supplied by Gebr. Pfeiffer. It is expected to double the plant’s cement production capacity after it is commissioned in the second quarter of 2022.
China: Huaxin Cement has signed a capital injection agreement with Huangshi State-owned Assets Company to acquire a 5.2% stake in the latter for US$150m. The producer says that it will strengthen its cooperation with Huangshi State-owned Assets Company in order to accelerate development of its non-cement business. It said that the transaction will also improve its innovation capabilities, helping it to achieve a low-carbon transformation. Huangshi State-owned Assets Company indirectly owns a 16% share of Huaxin Cement.
China: Anhui Conch Cement has engaged Conch IT Engineering for software platform supply and maintenance services for some of its subsidiaries. The supplier will provide design and technical services for the production process control system software, a sales and product dispatch system, production data uploading and a quality management system for clinker production lines, grinding units, aggregate, commodity concrete and technology modification projects. The value of the work is US$36m.
China: Tangshan Jidong Cement plans to launch a share buyback scheme by mid-2023. Reuters News has reported the value of the planned scheme as US$39.9 - 55.8m.
China: Wang Cheng has resigned as the chair and as an executive director of Anhui Conch Cement due to his “pursuit of other work commitments.” The company’s vice chair Wang Jianchao will work as acting chair until a successor is found. Wang Cheng took up the post in 2021 when the previous chair Gao Dengbang resigned. He joined Conch Holdings in 2021 after a career in government.
Namibia: The Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation has shut down production at the Whale Rock Cement plant near Otjiwarongo due to non-compliance with labour laws on the health and safety of employees. A notice was delivered instructing the factory to close its grinding station, packing machine, cement warehouse and cement workshop, according to the Namibia Press Agency. The plant has been ordered to remain closed until all hazardous areas have been made safe. This is expected to take a week. Affected employees are entitled to full remuneration during this period.
The decision to close the plant followed labour inspections in April and May 2022. During the inspections one employee reportedly lost a finger at the pallet stacking area and another sustained finger injuries when he was unblocking the dust collector. Workers said that they work in a dusty environment with no dust masks. They also alleged that a Chinese supervisor brings a gun to work to intimidate them.
The cement company is a Chinese joint-venture and it also trades under the Cheetah Cement brand name. Around 210 Namibians and 44 Chinese nationals work for the company. In April 2022 eight workers at the plant were deported to China for working without adequate work permits.
Huaxin Cement approved for first carbon emission reduction loan in the Chinese cement sector
13 May 2022China: Huaxin Cement says it has been approved for a US$5.8m preferential carbon emission reduction loan. It is the first such finance arrangement in the local cement sector. The People's Bank of China established a carbon emission reduction support tool in November 2021 to guide financial institutions to increase green and low-carbon credit support. Huaxin Cement’s Huangshi subsidiary put together its application based around a waste heat recovery project. It then worked with the Bank of Communications and the People's Bank of China. The cement producer says that its other subsidiaries are now working on similar applications.