Displaying items by tag: GCW256

Colombia: Cement producers are reacting to a boom in infrastructure projects in Colombia by increasing production and upgrading existing production capacity. Demand for ordinary Portland cement is expected to grow in the short-term due to the government's 4G roads programme and the growth of the housing sector. Current expansion projects in the country include Cementos Argos’ new 1.4Mt/yr plant at Sogamoso in Boyaca and Cemex’s 1Mt/yr cement plant at Maceo in Antioquia.

Nepal: Cement producers in Nepal are upgrading their plants in preparation for the start of operation by a number of foreign owned cement companies. Dhruba Thapa, the president of the Cement Manufacturers' Association of Nepal (CMAN), said that the imminent ‘invasion’ by foreign cement producers has led to unease amongst local producers, in comments to the Kathmandu Post

Dangote Cement from Nigeria, Hongshi and Huaxin from China and Reliance Cement from India have all been granted clearance to start operations in Nepal. Their combined foreign direct investment amounts to US$1.45bn and their proposed output stands at 22,000t/day.

Local projects include Cosmos Cement’s plan to build its first clinker plant. It is expected to start production in the second half of 2016. At present the cement producer operates two cement grinding plants with a combined capacity of 800t/day. It is also upgrading the capacity of these plants to a total of 2000t/day.

Arghakhanchi Cement has announced that it will nearly triple its capacity to 3000t/day by the end of 2017. At present the plant has a production capacity of 1200t/day. Agni Cement Industry has planned to set up a new plant with a daily capacity of 1200t/day. Currently, its capacity is 300t/day.

Domestic demand for cement is 5.5Mt/yr and production is 4.6Mt/yr according to CMAN. Domestic cement manufacturers claim that they have become able to meet 80% of the country's requirement with a capacity utilisation of 50 – 60%. However, foreign investors have said that there is unexplored potential demand for cement in Nepal as infrastructure development grows. Local producers have countered this claim, saying that foreign direct investment has been promoted by offering foreign investors more tax incentives than what domestic producers receive.

Bhutan: Dungsam Cement is waiting for the market to improve in India following announcements of infrastructure development from the government. The latest budget in the neighbouring country is expected to boost demand for cement and steel in the north-eastern region of India and in Bhutan. The cement producer made a loss of US$10.9m in its last financial year, according to the Bhutan Broadcasting Service.

“We are eagerly waiting for the release of the development budget. We have 593 hours worth of cement silos full and waiting to be dispatched in the northeast,” said Dungsam Cement’s CEO, Dorji Norbu.

US: HeidelbergCement and Italcementi have reached an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to allow the company’s merger to proceed on schedule. The FTC accepted the proposed divestment of operations in the US, primarily consisting of Italcementi’s Martinsburg cement plant in West Virginia and up to eleven terminals on 17 June 2016. All competition approvals necessary for closing the Italcementi acquisition have now been obtained.

“We are very pleased with the positive decision of the Federal Trade Commission,” said Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “We are now on track to close the acquisition of the 45% stake in Italcementi which we are planning together with Italmobiliare for the beginning of July 2016.” The divestment process for the assets in US has already started and significant interest has already been recorded. Citi is mandated as sell side advisor for the disposal.

The planned full acquisition of Italcementi will proceed in two steps following approval by the necessary competition bodies. HeidelbergCement will initially acquire a controlling stake of 45% from Italmobiliare. HeidelbergCement will then propose a public mandatory offer to the remaining shareholders for the acquisition of their shares in return for a cash payment. The exact timing of the mandatory offer will be released at a later date. HeidelbergCement expects the entire transaction to be completed in the second half of 2016.

China: Shanshui Cement has regained control over Liaocheng Shanshui, a subsidiary that was illegally occupied by ‘unidentified people’. The local government and police helped the company take back the cement plant and its offices. Normal production has resumed.

During the occupation the offices were ransacked and the official seal and business license of Liaocheng Shanshui were stolen. Shandong Shanshui and Liaocheng Shanshui have announced that, the stolen seal of Liaocheng Shanshui has been invalidated since 16 June 2016.

In a statement the company has confirmed that a corporate dispute is on-going between Shanshui Zhonggong, Shandong Shanshui and Liaocheng Shanshui. It believes that the occupation was related to this. Shanshui Cement has faced financial troubles since a shareholder battle for control of the company took place in late 2015.

India: All options are being considered by the state government for the Mawmluh Cherra Cement plant in Meghalaya including handing the plant over to private investors. Chief minister Mukul Sangma refused to rule out the option when asked about the state owned cement plant, according to the Indian Telegraph.

"In the process of trying to turn any public sector undertaking of the government into a profit-making body, the authorities concerned have been asked to consider all options. Let them come up with the options and then the best one will be considered," said Sangma.

The cement plant stopped production in 2014. It has since been dogged by high staff costs. In early June 2016 the Meghalaya government approved a voluntary retirement scheme for 145 of the plant’s 445 employees.

Myanmar: The state-run No. 33 cement plant in Kyaukse, Mandalay will be upgraded to produce up to 5000t/day of cement in a partnership with Myanmar Conch Cement. The plant was established in 1983 and has been running under the Ministry of Industry with a capacity of 300t/day. The upgrade is expected to be finished in three months, according to Myanmar Business Today.

The agreement with Myanmar Conch Cement will give the government profit from 2.71% of production in the first year and from 5% in the following 19 years. “In profit sharing, the government owns its net profit without investment for production and staff payment. The partnership company will pay for it,” said U Saw Aung, General Manager of Technology at the Development Department of the Ministry of Industry.

Domestic demand for cement in Myanmar is around 8Mt/yr with half of this figure imported from abroad.

Cambodia: Battambang Conch Cement, a joint venture between China’s Conch International Holdings and Cambodia’s Battambang KT Cement, has announced plans to build a US$230m cement plant in Battambang province. The plant will being operation in December 2017 and it will have a cement production capacity of 1.8Mt/yr, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

“We will be the fourth cement company to supply the market,” said Vinh Hour, director of Battambang Conch Cement. According to Hour, Cambodia’s demand for cement has reached 8Mt/yr and the existing three cement plants in Kampot province can only supply about half of this amount. The remainder is imported from Asian suppliers. Battambang Conch Cement has applied for an industrial mining licence to use limestone from a nearby mountain in the district. The company aims to supply five provinces in northwest Cambodia: Battambang, Pursat, Bantey Meanchey, Siem Reap and Preah Vihear.

Hort Pheng, director of industrial affairs at the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft, said the ministry has approved five cement factories to date – three of which are in Kampot province and already supply the market. Chip Mong Insee Cement has also received approval to build a production line in the southern province, with construction on the US$260m cement plant expected to finish in 2018.

Vietnam: FLSmidth has signed an engineering and procurement contract worth Euro34m with the Tan Thang Cement Joint Stock Company for the supply of main equipment to new cement plant in the Nghe An province. The order includes all the main equipment from the raw mill grinding to the clinker silo, as well as a coal mill installation, civil design, commissioning and training. Once completed, the cement plant will have a capacity of 5000t/day.

"This order is the second significant order to FLSmidth in Vietnam within the past year and was won against two other international competitors due to FLSmidth's strong track record in Vietnam and the use of the most efficient equipment. Vietnam has, for many years, been an important market to FLSmidth and, after a number of years with limited growth within the cement industry, the market is starting to pick up again," said Group Executive Vice President of the Cement Division Per Mejnert Kristensen.

The order will be booked by the company’s Cement Division and contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until late 2017.

China: Anhui Conch and China Resources Cement have entered into a strategic co-operation agreement. According to the agreement Anhui Conch shall assist the China Resources Cement in the construction and the upgrade of its cement plants. Both parties intend to build a knowledge transfer system to allow their experience in production, technology and business management to be shared. They also have agreed to jointly promote the sustainable and healthy development of the cement industry in China and explore the possibilities of co-operation in China and overseas.