Displaying items by tag: Israel

Israel: Danny Tal, the Trade Levies Commissioner at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, is investigating a claim that cement from Turkey and Greece is being dumped in the local market. The Melet Har Tuv Company originally made the claim to the ministry, according to the Globes business newspaper. In its claim Melet Har Tuv alleged that cement normally sold in Greece was being solid for about 85% of the value in Israel.

"The complainant has reasonably proved that it manufactures in Israel goods that are similar to the imported goods regarding the raw materials, manufacturing processes, physical attributes, marketing channels, the use and the treatment by consumers,” said Tal.

The country’s biggest cement producer Nesher supported the claim in April 2017 and this helped initiate the investigation. Data provided by Har Tuv to the Trade Levies Commissioner suggest that the market share the local cement companies have fallen following the increase of imports. Nesher’s market share fell to 65% from 75% and Melet Har Tuv’s share fell to 5.8% from 10%. It is alleged that LafargeHolcim is the main company ‘flooding’ the local market.

Israel: The Supreme Court has posted a temporary injunction preventing the Israel Ports Development & Assets Company and the Ashdod Port Company from halting the cement imports of Lev Baron Commodities. The injunction was imposed in response to an appeal by Lev Baron against Israel Ports and Ashdod Port, according to Israel Business Arena. The move by the court is the latest in a battle between Lev Baron and Israel Ports over the terms of their relationship.

Lev Baron imports cement into Israel, mainly from Cyprus and Turkey. In 2015, it imported 800,000t of cement and is expected to reach 900,000t in 2016. Lev Baron’s imports account for 14% of the cement supply in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Gaza/Israel: Israel has once again blocked the entry of cement and other construction materials into the Gaza Strip for private sector projects. It accused Hamas, the militant Islamic organisation in control of the territory, of using the materials to build tunnels in violation of an agreement made after the 2014 Gaza war. The ban will not affect supplies to large international construction projects such as those coordinated by the United Nations.

Ireland: CRH has been named in a Euro34bn lawsuit file in Washington DC launched by Palestinian activists against a group of businesses operating in Israel. The activists who are trying to sue various groups with connections to Israel for allegedly ‘profiteering’ from the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, according to the Irish Times.

The Irish building materials company sold its 25% stake in Mashav, which owned the Israeli cement producer Nesher, in December 2015. However, the lawsuit is targeting CRH over its past co-ownership. The lawsuit accuses Nesher of supplying concrete for the foundations of Jewish settlements and for building barriers in the West Bank and for allegedly extracting minerals from Palestinian territory.

Israel/Palestine: Norwegian insurance giant KLP Kapitalforvaltning has divested two international building material companies, HeidelbergCement and Cemex, from its investment portfolio because of their operations in the West Bank.

According to news agency Haaretz, KLP divested its shares effectively on 1 June 2015, citing international law as set in the Hague and Geneva conventions. Haaretz added that the move is part of KLP's half-yearly review of companies in its portfolio. HeidelbergCement and Cemex acquired companies with Israeli subsidiaries operating quarries in Area C, West Bank, which is under complete Israeli civilian and military control as defined by the Oslo accords. KLP also excluded five more companies because of their income from coal-based operations, one for corruption, one for severe environmental damage and one for the production of tobacco.

"The extraction of non-renewable resources in occupied territory may weaken the future income potential of the local population, including the Palestinian residents. Moreover, when this is undertaken in a way that is difficult to justify within the requirements of the law of belligerent occupation, KLP considers that this activity represents an unacceptable risk of violating fundamental ethical norms," said KLP in a statement.

Israel: CRH may end its involvement with a hugely controversial Israeli company whose cement has been used to manufacture barriers for a widely condemned security wall that separates Israel from the Palestinian West Bank.

CRH owns a 25% stake in Israel's only cement producer, Mashav and for years has drawn fire from shareholders and international pressure groups for retaining its holding in the company, which it bought in 2001. Mashav is the holding company for a firm called Nesher Cement, the cement of which has been used to construct the wall dividing the West Bank from Israel. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign is among the groups that has put pressure on CRH to divest its stake in Mashav and has previously staged protests at CRH annual general meetings.

CRH has previously pointed out that, while it owns a 25% stake in Mashav, the group isn't directly involved in the production of concrete products in Israel. The company has also insisted that Mashav can't discriminate against who it sells concrete to and that the Israeli firm's concrete has also been sold to the Palestinian Authority.

But the new chief executive of CRH, Albert Manifold, has been spearheading a sweeping review of CRH's businesses that could see a number of them, including its stake in Mashav, being put up for sale. In February 2014 Manifold said that CRH has so far identified 45 businesses that will be put on the block. CRH finance director Maeve Carton said that the units have been singled out for not meeting 'Those criteria we have of being able to deliver improved margins and growth into the future.'

In a detailed annual report, CRH said that 34 of the 45 businesses that it's planning to sell are in Europe and another 11 in the US. CRH also said that it wrote off a total of Euro105m from the value of a 50% stake in Turkey's Denizli Cement and its 25% stake in Mashav. That has fuelled speculation that CRH may also seek to offload its holding in Mashav. A spokesman for the company declined to comment. CRH has not identified any specific businesses that it plans to sell as part of its review.

Gaza/Israel: Israel has allowed a limited quantity of cement and other building materials into the Gaza Strip for the first time since 2007. Nazmi Muhanna, an official in the Palestinian Authority in charge of border checkpoints, said that efforts made by President Mahmoud Abbas to convince Israel to allow entry of construction material into Gaza for private sector usage had succeeded. Israel has promised to increase the quantity gradually.

"I welcome the decision which reflects our ongoing discussions with the Israelis," commented Quartet representative Tony Blair in a statement. "This is an important step in building a more positive environment for the diplomatic negotiations and in preparing the ground for the more comprehensive and transformative economic initiative, which we have been working on for the past few months."

Israel: Siemens Turbine will supply a combined cycle steam turbine to Nesher Cement's Ramla Plant in Israel. The company will supply an SST-300 industrial turbine with the output of 23.75MW to the plant, which is located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The turbine has been completed recently and is ready for transport from Brno, Czech Republic to Israel.

Israel: Nesher Israel Cement Enterprises CEO Joel Feldschuh has announced to shareholders that he will leave the company on 31 December 2013. Feldschuh has spent nine years in post at Nesher.

"Over the past nine years Nesher met all the economy's needs for high-quality products at competitive and fair prices and most of all, at a high level of service," said Feldschuh.

Israel: The Israeli Interior Ministry has approved the construction of a waste recycling plant with a capacity of 1500t/day next to the former Hiriya rubbish dump, southeast of Tel Aviv.

The project is a joint venture between the regional Dan Municipal Sanitation Association and Nesher Cement. Nesher Cement plans to use refuse derived fuels at its Ramle plant, all other materials will be recycled. The Environment and Finance ministries have also announced tenders to build another similar facility in the area.