Displaying items by tag: China
China: Austria’s RHI Magnesita plans to invest Euro20m in its dolomite plant in China. It is intended to address global pressures in the supply of raw materials to the refractory industry and ‘rapidly’ provide additional volumes to its customers worldwide. In the medium term more than 250 jobs will be created at the brick plant and raw material mine in Chizhou.
The Chizhou site includes an ‘extensive’ dolomite mine and raw material production as well as facilities for the production of high-quality dolomite-based finished products. Successful trials are already underway in the brick plant in Chizhou where it is planned to start production by the beginning of 2019. The raw dolomite mine is planned to resume operation by the end of 2019. This overall investment will eventually lead to the creation of up to 250 jobs.
“After the completion of the investment, RHI Magnesita will be able to offer a fully integrated dolomite source in each of the big regions of the world to our customers and simultaneously offer dual sourcing options,” said Stefan Borgas, the chief executive officer (CEO) of RHI Magnesita. He added that the investment will allow the company to offer its customers in Asia shorter lead times and provide additional capacity to customers in North America, Europe and Asia from local sources.
Borgas went on to say that stricter environmental regulations in China have led to local plant closures, resulting in shortages of both magnesite and dolomite, ‘dramatic’ increases in raw material cost and supply security issues. These developments have accelerated the shift from magnesia- to dolomite based products. High stainless steel production has further fuelled demand for refractory products and compounded the pressure on raw material supplies.
Huaxin Cement to build US$140m plant in Nepal
25 June 2018Nepal: Huaxin Cement has signed a project investment agreement with the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) to build a US$140m plant. Xu Gang, vice-president of Huaxin Cement signed the deal with Maha Prasad Adhikari, the chief executive (CEO) of IBN, during a visit by Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to Beijing, according to the Kathmandu Post. The unit will have a production capacity of 3000t/day. The local subsidiary, Huaxin Cement Narayani, has already acquired a limestone mine at Panikharkha in Dhading. The IBN will also support the project by assisting the government to build a transmission line to supply 18MW of electricity to the unit.
KP Sharma Oli also signed an agreement with the Chinese government to build a cross-border railway between Kathmandu and Kerung in Tibet.
Nepal: Shivam Cement has received approval from the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) to launch an initial public offering. It will be the first cement producer in the country to become public, according to the Republica newspaper. Shivam Cement operates a 1250t/day plant and it has a captive limestone mine. The company also holds a 30% share in Hongshi-Shivam Cement, a Nepalese-Chinese joint venture that has started trial production at the Hongshi Cement near Dumkibaas in Nawalparasi district.
Kazakhstan: Gezhouba Shieli Cement plans to commission its 1Mt/yr plant in the Kyzylorda region in December 2018. The US$188m unit will be used to produce oil well cement, according to Interfax. The project is a joint venture majority owned by Chinese investors with a minority stake from a local cement company. The plant is being built by China Triumph International Engineering.
CNBM increases majority share in Southwest Cement
21 June 2018China: China National Building Material (CNBM) has agreed to buy a further 18.7% stake in Southwest Cement for US$295m from Zhonshai Trust. The building materials producer already owns a 70% majority stake in its subsidiary. The remaining stake in Southwest Cement is owned by Shanghai Zhentong (6.3%) and Beijing Huachen (5%).
China: Peng Shou has been appointed as the president of China National Building Materials (CNBM). Other new appointments announced in the wake of the company’s annual general meeting include the assignment of Chang Zhangli as a non-executive director and Yu Kaijun as secretary to the board.
Peng Shou, aged 57 years, holds has over 30 years of experience in business and management in the building material industry with various senior roles at both CNBM and Triumph International Engineering. Peng holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Wuhan Institute of Building material industry (now Wuhan University of Technology) and a master’s degree in management from Wuhan Polytechnic University (now Wuhan University of Technology).
Chang Zhangli, age 47 years, has held a variety of senior management roles at companies including CNBM, Jushi Group, Southwest Cement, China Triumph International Engineering, China United Cement, China Composites Group, North Cement and Beijing New Building Materials.
Yu Kaijun, aged 55 years, is a vice president of CNBM. He holds over 35 years of experience in financial management and corporate governance with positions at Sinoma, BBMG, Xinjiang Tianshan Cement, Ningxia Building Materials Group. Notably he was the chief financial officer of Sinoma from 2010 to 2018 and Sinoma International Engineering from 2001 to 2011. He holds a masters degree in accounting from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
China: Yang Yongzheng has resigned as a non-executive director of China Tianrui Group Cement Company due to a prison sentence. Yang has also resigned as a member of the group’s nomination committee. He has been replaced on the nomination committee by Li Liufa, the chairman of the company.
Semperit closes Shandong plant
19 June 2018China: Austria’s Semperit has closed its Sempertrans Best (Shandong) Belting plant in Shandong. The decision was made as part of review of the group’s production footprint. The plant had a higher margin than other sites. The closure is also expected to reduce the complexity of operations at the group level. 120 employees will be affected and the shutdown is expected to burden the group’s earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) by Euro10m in 2018.
The groups subsidiary in Shandong was founded by Semperit as a joint venture with the state-owned energy company Wang Chao Coal & Electricity Group in 2010. The Chinese partner currently holds a 16.1% stake. The production site manufactures textile and steel cord belts and has served the export markets and the Chinese market so far.
China: Anhui Conch has suspended production at three of its production lines at the cement plant run by its Tongling Conch subsidiary at Gusheng in Anhui province. The suspension has followed the temporary closure of a pier used by the plant in late May 2018 in accordance with new government regulations on drinking water supply and pollution.
Use of the pier has been suspended as it is close to the Tongling Water Treatment Plant. The pier is used to export cement and clinker products from the unit and bring in raw materials such as coal. The temporary suspension of the plant’s production lines will reduce its clinker production capacity by 58% to just under 9Mt/yr from 15Mt/yr.
The cement producer has defended its environmental record, pointing out that the pier was approved with all the necessary licences and environmental approvals in 1987. Construction of the water treatment plant started in 1992.
Clinker products produced by Tongling Conch are mainly sold to Anhui Conch’s subsidiaries, including cement grinding plants along the Yangtze River and on the coast. The company plans to source clinker from other plants to continue supporting the affected grinding plants.
CRC profit to increase
12 June 2018China: China Resources Cement (CRC) has said that it expects its profit attributable to the owners for the six months ending 30 June 2018 to significantly increase compared to the corresponding period of 2017. The expected growth was primarily attributable to the higher selling prices of cement products during the period, which rose by 33.4% year-on-year.