Displaying items by tag: Egypt

Egypt: Saad El Din Group affiliate Spanish Egyptian Cement Factory says that it has four foreign entities interested in placing bids to acquire it. Arab Finance News has reported that two of the entities in question are based in Gulf countries. Saad El Din Group is reportedly withdrawing from other industries outside of its core petroleum products business.

Spanish Egyptian Cement Factory controls the El Raswa grinding plant in Port Said Public Free Zone.

Egypt: NI Capital, the investment arm of Egypt’s National Investment Bank, plans to sell its 10% stake in Misr Cement Qena. The Al Borsa newspaper has reported that the company is preparing to tender for a financial advisor for the intended sale. The divestment would form part of a US$5bn International Monetary Fund (IMF)-mandated privatisation programme, due to conclude before June 2024.

Egypt: Abu Dhabi Ports Group subsidiary Transcargo International (TCI) is building a bulk cement terminal at Arish port in North Sinai Governorate. The company says that the facility will be equipped with six 10,000t cement silos. Four silos will store up to 40,000t of grey cement, while two will store up to 20,000t/yr of white cement. Cementir Holding subsidiary Sinai White Portland Cement has signed a cooperation agreement with TCI to use the Arish cement terminal. TCI says that the terminal will serve multiple markets worldwide and help Sinai White Portland Cement to raise its total export volumes, thereby also raising its competitiveness.

TCI’s CEO Mohamed El Ahwal said "This project aligns with our commitment to support Egyptian exports by providing specialised logistics solutions across several industries. Building and operating Egypt’s first bulk cement terminal, we anticipate cost savings for cement producers in Egypt, making prices more competitive globally and increasing global market penetration."

Egypt: Arabian Cement Company has hired consultancy A³&Co. to help develop a decarbonisation roadmap for its 5Mt/yr Sokhna cement plant. The roadmap will include the implementation of an integrated environmental, social and governance (ESG) business model, Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-verified targets, carbon market trading and EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) registration. Arabian Cement Company will execute projects to achieve its goals via a strategic partnership with A³&Co and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Arabian Cement Company CEO Sergio Alcantarilla said “We are excited about this partnership with EBRD and A³&Co., which showcases our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable development. By embracing cutting-edge solutions and adopting greener processes, we are not only reducing our carbon footprint but also setting new benchmarks for the industry.”

A³&Co. CEO Amr Nader said “Through our collective expertise, we are confident that we can drive meaningful progress towards decarbonisation and the production of green cement, setting a precedent for responsible business practices in the region. The renewed cooperation between Arabian cement and A³&Co. is an additional milestone in our successful collaboration over the past two years. A³&Co. will also develop a Climate Corporate Governance (CCG) framework for Arabian Cement Company, which is the cornerstone for a fully-functioning ESG system in line with international norms.”

Egypt: Sinai Cement’s sales were US$104m in the first nine months of 2023, up by 99% from US$52.4m in the corresponding period in 2022. As such, it succeeded in reducing its net loss by 31%, to US$3.93m from US$571m.

South Korea/Egypt: The South Korean government’s 72% ‘anti-dumping duty’ on imports of white cement from Egypt entered force on 17 November 2023. Yonhap English News has reported that the measure will remain in force for four months, until 17 March 2023.

Egypt exported 9240t of white cement to South Korea in 2022, up by a factor of nine from 2021 levels.

Italy: Cementir Holding raised its sales by 0.5% year-on-year during the first nine months of 2023, to Euro1.3bn. It sold 7.93Mt of cement, down by 3.1% year-on-year from 8.19Mt in the corresponding period of 2022. Cementir Holding attributed the decline to reduced demand, primarily in Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Malaysia and the US. This offset an increase in consumption in China and Türkiye. The group’s operating costs dropped by 6.6% to 1.01bn, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 33% to Euro321m.

The European Union (EU) carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) started its transitional phase this week ahead of the full adoption of the scheme in 2026. Importers of goods with a high carbon cost, including cement, will have to report the direct and indirect CO₂ emissions associated with production. No financial penalty will be incurred during the transition period, but from 2026 onwards importers will have to start buying certificates at the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) price. However, even the full version of the CBAM will be phased in with the cost of embedded emissions increased gradually from 2026 to 2034. Readers can catch up on the CBAM guidance for importers here.

Graph 1: Sources of cement and clinker imports to the EU in H1 2023. Source: Eurostat/Cembureau.

Global Cement Weekly has covered the EU CBAM frequently, but it is worth remembering which countries are most likely to be affected. According to data from Eurostat and Cembureau, the EU imported just over 10Mt of cement and clinker in 2022. This compares to around 2.5Mt in 2016. Graph 1 (above) is even more instructive, as it shows where the cement and clinker came from in the first half of 2023. Most of it was manufactured in countries on the periphery of the EU with, roughly, a third from Türkiye and a third from North Africa. These are the countries with the most to lose from the CBAM.

Graph 2: CO₂ emissions intensity for cement exports. Green signifies cleaner than the EU average, Red signifies more carbon intensive than the EU average. Source: World Bank.

Türkiye is the most exposed. Data from Türkçimento shows that it exported 3.4Mt of cement and clinker into the EU in 2022 or 13% of its total exports. Bulgaria, Italy and Romania were the main destinations for cement. Belgium, Spain and France were the main targets for clinker. Notably, more clinker than cement was exported to the EU. For context, in total Türkiye exported 18.5Mt and 8.5Mt of cement and clinker respectively in 2022. The US was the leading destination for Turkish cement at 9.7Mt and Ivory Coast for clinker at 1.3Mt. Türkiye seems set to tackle the problem that CBAM poses for its iron and cement sectors by introducing its own emissions trading scheme. One view expressed has been that if the country has to pay for its carbon emissions it would much rather pocket the money domestically than see it go to a foreign entity. A relative CBAM Exposure Index put together by the World Bank by June 2023 suggested that Türkiye would actually benefit slightly in comparison to some of its cement exporting rivals as the CO₂ emissions intensity of its cement exports was 4.85kg CO₂eq/US$. This study’s pivot point was 4.97kg CO₂eq/US$, putting Türkiye just across the line for increased competitiveness.

Cement export data for Algeria is harder to find but state-owned Groupe des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA) has been regularly issuing bulletins since 2018 detailing its cement exports. It previously had an export target of 2Mt for 2023 with destinations in Africa, Europe and South and Central America. Looking more widely, research by the African Climate Foundation (ACF) and the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics and Political Science estimated that 12% of Africa’s cement exports ended up in the EU. It reckoned that the introduction of the CBAM and an EU ETS price of Euro87/t would reduce total African exports of cement to the EU by 3 - 5% if the EU ended its ETS free allowance. The World Bank CBAM Exposure study found that Egypt and Morocco were likely to become more competitive for cement exports but Tunisia less so. Unfortunately this analysis did not cover Algeria.

The third largest individual source of imports into the EU in the first half of 2023 was Ukraine. Research from the Kiev School of Economics estimated that the start of the CBAM would reduce the export volume of cement to the EU by 2 - 5%/yr. The World Bank study found that Ukraine would become less competitive as the emissions intensity of its cement exports was 7.62kg CO₂eq/US$. This would be compounded by the fact that more than 90% of the country’s cement exports ended up in the EU. However, since the EU backed the country when Russia invaded in early 2022, imposing the CBAM on exports has acquired geopolitical consequences. There has been lobbying on this issue from various sources, so this situation might be one to watch to gain a sense of how the EU might react when its sustainability aims clash with its political imperatives.

One major risk for the cement exporting countries soon to be affected by the CBAM is if other countries start to do the same in a domino effect before the exporters introduce their own carbon pricing schemes. Türkiye is clearly alert to this. Other countries are thinking the same way. The US, for example, has had senators discuss the merits of setting up its own version. It is also wise to using sustainability legislation to further its own economic ends as the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 showed. At the moment the US needs lots of cement imports but were this to change then the case to enact a US CBAM might grow.

Finally, one should never discount the sheer amount of bureaucracy involved when dealing with the EU. The UK discovered this when it voted to leave the EU and now the rest of the world gets to enjoy it too! Christian Alexander Müller of Evonik told the Die Welt newspaper this week that Brussels had created a bureaucratic ‘Godzilla.' Another commentator noted that the European Commission only published its guidance document for importers on CBAM in mid-August 2023 and that helping export partners would be like teaching them Latin in just a few weeks. Bona fortuna!

Egypt: Misr Beni Suef Cement has secured board approval for a reduction in its issued capital. Arab Finance News has reported that the company plans to reduce its capital by 10% to US$19.8m.

South Korea/Egypt: The South Korean government plans to implement a 72% import duty on white cement from Egypt. Yonhap News has reported that the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) recommended the duty as an anti-dumping measure, following its investigation into the impacts of Egyptian imports on the South Korean white cement industry. This consists of Union Corporation’s 200,000t/yr Chongju white cement plant in North Chungcheong.

South Korea consumed 100,000t of white cement in 2022. Egyptian white cement commanded a 10% (10,000t) market share. The domestic cement industry complained to the KTC against Royal El Minya Cement and Albatros International Cement Trading in March 2023. An additional probe will now follow to assess the correct rate for the duty.