Displaying items by tag: Indonesia

China: Anhui Conch’s revenues fell by 9% year-on-year to US$5.77bn in the first half of 2025 from US$6.37bn in the same period in 2025. Its net profit grew by 32% to US$587m from US$445m. Its net sales of cement and clinker remained stable at 127Mt. The group said that despite facing “insufficient demand, intensified competition and volatile market conditions” it managed to improve its efficiency, reduce operation costs and expand its market. Notable cement sector achievements during the reporting period included signing a deal to buy selected assets from West China Cement in China, acquiring Conch West Papua Cement in Indonesia and completing a 5000t/day production line at Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

Indonesia: PT Solusi Bangun Indonesia (SBI) is developing a pier and cement production facility at its Tuban plant, East Java, to export up to 1Mt/yr to the US in collaboration with Taiheiyo Cement, according to national news agency Antara.

Corporate communications manager Novi Maryanti said that the project was a priority amidst the contraction of the domestic cement market. Maryanti said “With our large export capacity, we are optimistic that we can maintain the company's profitability and expand our contribution to the national economy.”

SBI, 83.5% owned by SIG, operates four plants in Narogong, Cilacap, Tuban and Lhoknga with a combined capacity of 14.8Mt/yr and more than 2000 staff.

Indonesia: The government has called on cement producers to expand exports and develop sustainable products to counter oversupply, according to Antara news. This comes after a visit by the Director General at the Ministry of Industry, Taufiek Bawazier, to the Solusi Bangun Indonesia cement plant in Bogo, West Java. Bawazier said that national cement production capacity currently stands at 122Mt/yr, while demand is only around 70Mt/yr, resulting in low utilisation and inefficiency.

Bawazier said “This is a serious challenge for the industry. If left unresolved, it could lead to unhealthy business competition. Strengthening the domestic component level policy is also a priority. Currently, local cement products have achieved a 60–70% domestic content level.”

He added that production capacity could be controlled by imposing a moratorium on new cement industry permits in regions where the market is already saturated. Several cement producers, such as Semen Indonesia, already export to Australia and even the US.

Indonesia: Cement consumption fell by 5% year-on-year to 5.18Mt in May 2025, despite rising 32% month-on-month following Eid al-Fitr, according to Kontan.co.id news. The annual drop reflects ongoing purchasing power challenges, longer holidays and routine demand from the construction of the country’s new capital city at Nusantara.

Java remained the top sales region at 2.73Mt, down by 6% year-on-year. Sales outside Java also declined by 3% to 2.45Mt. Bagged cement consumption fell by 4% to 3.69Mt, while bulk cement demand dropped by 6% to 1.49Mt. Cumulative sales from January to May 2025 stood at 22.27Mt, down 2% year-on-year, compared to a 1% decline in the January–April period.

Equity research analyst Andreas Saragih at Mirae Aset Sekuritas said “Although there was a deeper contraction, we are of the view that the achievement is relatively in line with expectations, because it is equivalent to 35% of our 2025 cement sales estimate.”

Indonesia: Cement production fell by 7.4% in Indonesia during the first quarter of 2025, falling from 14.5Mt in 2024 to 13.4Mt in 2025, according to data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). March 2025 was particularly low compared to the year prior, with sales for the month falling by 21.6% to 3.8Mt. The nation’s capacity utilisation rate was estimated at just 57%.

Regionally, the steepest decline was seen in Kalimantan, where sales for the first quarter of 2025 were 21.8% lower than in the same period of 2024. Sales in Bali and Nusa Tenggara fell by 15.2%, while Sulawesi saw a decline of 13.9%. The decrease in Kalimantan was due in part to the slower development of projects in the new capital city Nusantara, as the government has slowed down spending on the project.

More widely, ASI chairman Lilik Unggul Raharjo attributed the national contraction in cement sales to weaker household spending, as well as slower infrastructure construction. He projected continued pressure on the cement industry throughout the rest of 2025, driven by global economic uncertainty and excess production capacity.

Raharjo also pointed to global policies to reduce carbon emissions as another burden on the industry, citing Australia's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is set to take effect in 2027. The policy will require a carbon tax to be paid on products with emissions that exceed a set limit, which could disrupt clinker exports from Indonesia to Australia. These are currently in the region of 1Mt/yr.

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia has appointed Indrieffouny Indra as President Director following its annual general meeting (AGM) held on 23 May 2025. He succeeds Donny Arsal in the role, who had been in post since 2021. Notable roles in Indrieffouny Indra’s employment history include President Director at Semen Padang from 2024 to 2025, Director of Operations at Semen Padang from 2022 to 2024 and Independent Commissioner at Wijaya Karya Beton from 2020 - 2022. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Sriwijaya University and a master of management qualification from Andalas University.

Other appointments confirmed at the AGM include Dicky Saelan as Director of Sales and Marketing, Dennis Pratistha as Director of Business Development and Strategy, Sigit Prastowo as Director of Finance and Risk Management, Hadi Setiadi as Director of Human Capital and Sigit Widyawan as President Commissioner.

Indonesia: PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa (INTP) recorded a 6% year-on-year drop in cement sales to 3.9Mt in the year to 31 March 2025, according to local press. INTP corporate secretary Dani Handajani said that the beginning of the year was typically a low-demand period due to weather, Ramadan and Eid holidays, but noted that the company's sales decline was smaller than the national industry’s 8% fall. Good news also came from the development of the new capital city Nusantara, which is back on track after being delayed. The project is expected to boost cement demand in Kalimantan.

Handajani warned that Indonesia’s cement oversupply problem will likely continue in 2025, and requires government policies like a ban on imports and the construction of new plants in the country.

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia has blamed falling sales and earnings in 2024 on a contracting local market and increased competition. The group’s revenue fell by 6% year-on-year to US$420m in 2024 from US$449m in 2023. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 30% to US$63.9m from US$90.5m. It noted that, despite this, it managed to maintain a positive profit before tax due to lowered operating and financing costs.

Its sales volumes decreased by 6% to 38.3Mt from 40.6Mt. The group attributed a fall in demand for bagged cement nationally as a contributing factor to lowered local demand. A slowdown in several infrastructure projects, including the Nusantara Capital City, in late 2024 further added to this trend. Export sales also declined.

Indonesia: Indocement recorded sales of 20.5Mt of cement and clinker in 2024, up by 1150t (6%) year-on-year. Corporate secretary Dani Handajani said the producer held a 30% domestic market share, with a 38% share in Java and a 21% share outside Java, according to the Cement Association of Indonesia (ASI). Handajani said that domestic bulk cement sales increased due to the new capital city project and acceleration of infrastructure projects in Java. Its exports reached 0.32Mt.

The Pacific Cement Corporation (PACEMCO) held a groundbreaking ceremony this week officially ‘reopening’ its cement plant in Surigao City. The revival of the plant has been supported by investments by San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Various dignitaries attended the event including John Paul Ang, the chief operating officer of SMC, the mayor of Surigao City mayor and the governor of Surigao del Norte.

The plant has been closed since 2014 due to financial problems. At the time, Global Cement reported that the cement plant stopped operations in May 2014 after the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative cut its power supply for unsettled debts worth at least US$0.5m. PACEMCO was originally set up in 1967 and the plant had a production capacity of 0.22Mt/yr via one production line in 2014.

Earlier in March 2025 the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was keen to highlight the efforts that Taiheiyo Cement Philippines (TCP) is making towards supporting the country's infrastructure capacity. Company executives met with the DTI and revealed plans including building a distribution terminal in Calaca, Batangas with the aim of targeting the Luzon market. This follows the construction of a new US$220m production line at TCP’s San Fernando plant in Cebu in July 2024.

Both announcements follow the implementation in late February 2025 of a provisional tariff on cement imports. The DTI started investigating imports in the autumn of 2024 and later decided to initiate a ‘preliminary safeguard measure’ following the discovery of a “causal link between the increased imports of the products under consideration and serious injury to the domestic industry.” The tariff takes the form of a cash bond of US$6.95/t or US$0.28/40kg bag of cement. It will be in place for 200 days, to mid-September 2025, while the Philippine Tariff Commission conducts a final investigation. The two main countries that will be affected are Vietnam and Japan. A large number of countries are exempt from the tariff including, notably, China and Indonesia. Both of these two countries were larger sources of imports to the Philippines during the five-year period the DTI is investigating. However, imports from these places have declined since 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Graph 1: Import of cement to the Philippines, 2019 - 2024. Source: Department of Trade and Industry.

A preliminary report by the DTI published in late February 2025 outlines the reasons for the provisional tariff. In summary it found that imports rose from 2019 and 2024 and the share of imports increased also pushing down the domestic share of sales. In the view of the report, the domestic cement sector experienced declining sales, production, capacity utilisation, profitability and employment for each year apart from 2021. One point to note is that the imports were split roughly 50:50 between local and foreign companies. Local company Philcement, for example, was the largest importer for cement to the Philippines from 2019 to 2024. In its statement to the DTI it said that it had invested in manufacturing the processing sites in the country. It argued that overprotection of the market discouraged competition and might not be aligned with the economic goals of the country.

Last time Global Cement Weekly covered the Philippines (GCW669) in July 2024 it looked likely that the government would take further action on imports. This has now happened on a temporary basis but it looks likely that it will become permanent. Recent investment announcements from local producers such as PACEMCO and TCP may be coincidental but they suggest a tentative confidence in the local sector.