Displaying items by tag: Government

Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction says that demand for cement and clinker is expected to increase slightly to up to 99Mt in 2019. This will consist of 70Mt locally and 29Mt of exports, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Demand grew by 19% year-on-year to 96.7Mt in 2018, with growth driven by a 55% rise in exports to 31.6Mt. It shipped 9.8Mt to China in 2018. The main export markets in 2019 are expected to be the Philippines, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan and Peru.

Angola: Nova Cimangola says that it is not being nationalised by the government. It has made the statement in response to local media reports that a state-led takeover is being considered as part of decree by President João Lourenço, according to the Jornal de Negócios newspaper. The cement company asserted that it is a private company with no public funding and that its financial, contractual and legal states are all in order. The company operates a 2.4Mt/yr integrated plant in Luanda.

Armenia: Tigran Khachatryan, the Minister of Economic Development and Investments, plans to implement tariffs on imported cement to protect local producers. A rate of around US$45/t will be imposed, according to the Arkan News Agency. In a cabinet session Khachatryan said that imports of cement had increased three times in the last year due to a ‘significant’ fall in the price of electricity in neighbouring countries and state subsidies to cement plants. He added that, subsequently, two local cement plants, with a combined production capacity of 2Mt/yr, were unable to sell even a third of their products.

US: ZAG has reached a US$506,250 settlement with the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over breaches on trade sanctions with Iran. Between mid-2014 and early 2015 OFAC says that ZAG purchased 263,563t of Iranian produced clinker via a company based in the UAE. The government body added that ZAG knew that the clinker came from Iran although it was assured at the time by the supplier that it was not subject to US sanctions. The clinker was then sold to a company in Tanzania. However, OFAC said that since ZAG voluntarily disclosed its violation of sanctions to the office it viewed the case as a so-called a ‘non-egregious case‘ and the resulting fine was far below the maximum.

India: The Builders Association of India has urged that the state government of Tamil Nadu take measures to reduce the price of cement following a 37% rise in the cost of the commodity. Chairman S Ayyanathan said cement prices had witnessed ‘sharp’ increase in the last 10 days, despite the cost of raw materials, labour and transportation remaining static, according to the Hindu newspaper. He also cited falling demand for cement due to a slowdown in construction activity in the state.

Kenya: A government audit has recommended that the Mining Minister suspend the operating licences for Athi River Mining and the East African Portland Cement (EAPCC). The report to the Public Accounts Committee was in response to the companies not paying taxes, according to the Business Daily newspaper. Both cement producers have faced financial difficulties recently.

Bolivia: President Evo Morales plans to prioritise the use of local produced cement for the construction new roads. He made the comment on a tour of a new cement plant being built at Caracollo, Oruro, according to the Pagina Siete newspaper. A decree or law will be used to enforce local government to use Bolivian-produced cement.

Spain: The local council in Alcudia, Mallorca is considering a licence application for the construction of a 65,000t cement terminal at its port. The application follows the end of a public consultation period, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin newspaper. The unit plans to have a capacity of at least 65,000t for the four years of its operation and then it will rise to 90,000t. It will use a pneumatic conveying system to minimise dust pollution emissions.

The Balearic Ports Authority previously gave its authorisation to the project in 2018 but it has faced opposition from environmental protestors. Cemex announced in late 2018 that it intended to stop production at its Lloseta cement plant on the island.

Kyrgyzstan: Shukhrat Sabirov, the head of the State Antimonopoly agency, has reported to parliament that South Kyrgyz Cement was fined for selling exported cement at a price lower than it sells cement locally. The official made the comment in response to questions from a member of parliament, according to Kyrgyzstan Newsline.

US: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order making it the policy of the federal government to buy goods locally, including cement, for infrastructure projects. The directive aims to strengthen the ‘Buy American and Hire American’ executive order issues in 2017 by giving a preference for raw materials manufactured in the US for use in government-backed projects.