Displaying items by tag: Malaysia

There has been an interesting knock-on effect from further economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week. Holcim Philippines may delay the construction of a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant in Bulacan province due to a drop in import tariffs in 2015. Vietnam or Indonesia were named as possible sources of clinker due to their excess capacity.

The ASEAN group comprises 10 countries including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Their respective cement production capacities range from 0.3Mt/yr at a clinker grinding plant in Singapore to Indonesia's integrated cement production capacity of 45Mt/yr. In total the ASEAN countries have a production capacity of around 220Mt/yr for a population of about 600m with national gross domestic products (GDP) per capita ranging from US$900 (Laos) to US$52,000 (Singapore).

One scenario for cement producers in the ASEAN countries is that they might be swamped by exports from places like Vietnam. That country had a production capacity of 73Mt/yr in 2013 with cement sales predicted to rise to 63Mt in 2014. Assuming the government released figures are correct, that leaves at least a 10Mt of cement production-sales gap that could torpedo a neighbouring country's cement industry in the free trade area.

Indonesia, the other potential source of clinker that Holcim Philippines mentioned, has seen construction growth slow and production capacity grow. Holcim reported in its nine-month report in November 2013 that, while national cement sales had risen by 5.3% to 41.6Mt, supply capacity had risen by 9% to 59Mt/yr. Assuming equal sales distribution throughout this suggests a capacity gap of 4Mt.

Some politicians in the region have complained that impending free trade area will create winners and losers. At a recent ASEAN meeting in Yangon, Myanmar a Myanmar planning minister raised the issue of a development gap within the ASEAN region calling for renegotiation for countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Meanwhile both the cement industries in Vietnam and Indonesia have clearly anticipated the implications of the ASEAN Economic Community. The Vietnam National Cement Association expects to remain competitive within the ASEAN region and against Chinese imports after 2015. In Indonesia State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan stated this week that the cement industry was ready for the ASEAN Economic Community thanks to the government's strategy to consolidate its major cement producers within one company, Semen Indonesia. Consistent cement industry growth in South East Asia may be about to change.

Malaysia: Cement manufacturer CMS Cement Sdn Bhd, a Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd subsidiary, will invest in a third cement grinding plant that will boost its installed capacity by 1Mt/yr to 2.75Mt/yr.

Cahya Mata group managing director, Datuk Richard Curtis, said that the plant would be adjacent to CMS Cement's clinker plant in Mambong, Jalan Penrissen. "We are now evaluating tenders for the project. It is expected to be ready by 2016 to support Sarawak's future growth and development," said Curtis. He said that the new plant, which would be integrated with the clinker plant, would serve the needs of Kuching and its hinterland while the existing plant at Pending would cater for other towns in Sarawak when the new factory was commissioned.

CMS Cement recorded sales of 1.67Mt of bulk and bagged cement in 2013. Curtis said the company's cement sales were estimated to increase to 1.72Mt in 2014 and that the company might import 0.20Mt, which was lower than the 0.27Mt imported in 2013. Once the third grinding plant is operational, the company will be able to address any production disruptions when one of the plants is shut down for maintenance.

CMS Cement will invest US$18.1m on the new plant, a third bulk cement barge to improve distribution capability, a 4000t cement silo to increase storage capacity and an inline packer for the Bintulu grinding plant to beef up capacity for bagged cement.

Malaysia: Lafarge Malayan Cement, Malaysia's largest cement producer, is considering an expansion drive to help meet buoyant domestic demand. Lafarge Malaysia has a 40% share of the local market, in which the total industry production averages 20Mt/yr.

"We will probably expand... (but) it needs to be finalised by our board and I can't discuss it in advance," said Lafarge Malaysia president and chief executive officer Bradley Mulroney in an interview. He added that as market leader, the company has to make sure that it has sufficient capacity to maintain its position.

Lafarge Malayan Cement holds three integrated cement plants, a grinding plant and it operates five quarries. In 2012 the company reported a 10% growth in net profit while revenue grew 7% to US$887m.

Lafarge's rivals in the sector include YTL Cement Bhd, Tasek Corp Bhd and Cement Industries of Malaysia Bhd (CIMA). Both YTL Cement and CIMA have planned capacity expansions of around 1.5Mt/yr. According to Bank Negara Malaysia, the construction sector will grow by 15.9% in 2013, helped by various projects under the government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

Australia: Australian building materials producer Adelaide Brighton will buy a 30% stake in a Malaysian white clinker and white cement producer, Aalborg Portland Malaysia (APM) for US$29.7m. APM is owned by Aalborg Portland A/S, a subsidiary of Italian entity Cementir Holding. The deal also secures a 10 year supply agreement with APM and continues Adelaide Brighton's efforts to access raw material given its 'maxed-out' production capability.

"The high dollar, rising power costs, the carbon tax and increasing labour costs make building a new plant in Australia too high in terms of capital expenditure costs," said Adelaide Brighton's chief financial officer Michael Kelly. He added that Adelaide Brighton needs to secure imports and that the acquisition provides a strategic position in Asia for the company.

APM is also considering a US$18.6m expansion of the plant to increase white clinker production capacity from about 2015. Imports of cementitious products, including grey and white clinker, cement and blast furnace slag are expected to increase from approximately 1.6Mt/yr in 2012 to more than 2Mt/yr in 2016.

Germany: Gebr. Pfeiffer SE has announced new orders for vertical roller mills (VRM) in Poland and Malaysia.

Pfeiffer has won the contract to supply a MPS 3070 BC VRM for grinding 46t/h of blast-furnace slag for the Odra works in Opole, Poland.

At the plant it is intended that slag ground to 3800cm²/g Blaine will be used as an additive to the cement. The VRM will feature a main drive with an output of 1350kW for a production rate of 46t/hr. Exhaust gases produced by the clinker cooler will allow the slag to be dried from a 9% feed moisture level down to below a 1% residual moisture level while being ground in the mill. The design of the mill will also make it possible to grind as much as 45t/hr of Ordinary Portland Cement to a fineness of 3500cm²/g Blaine.

In Malaysia Pfieffer has won a contract from KHD Humboldt Wedag for the construction of a 5000t/day plant. KHD is acting as a general contractor for an order from Straits Cement, a subsidiary of the Malaysian YTL Group.

Pfieffer is to supply the VRM for grinding cement raw material and coal. A MPS 4750 B raw mill is to be set up which can handle a capacity of 300t/hr of cement raw material ground to a product fineness of 12% R 90µm. The coal mill of the type MPS 2800 BK will be capable of grinding 35t/hr of coal.

Malaysia: CMS Cement Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) is embarking on an expansion programme with an initial investment of US$47m in an effort to meet the growing demand for cement.

"We are still doing the actual costing but when the programme is done we are optimistic of coping with the increasing demand from the state and particularly from construction activities in its regional development corridor, the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy," said CMS Group Managing Director Datuk Richard Curtis. "The state's annual need is 1.66Mt/yr and in the last five years, it has registered increases of 10-15%."

Speaking at the opening of the company's new 6000t US$7m Sibu bulk cement terminal, Curtis said, "We will expand our Kuching and Bintulu plants to be able to produce 2Mt/yr of both Portland and Cemplast Masonry cement by either late 2013 or early 2014. For our Kuching clinker plant, a new production line will be added to boost raw material production from 0.65Mt to 0.8Mt by middle of the year," he said.

The Kuching plant, set up in 1978, has an annual capacity of 1Mt/yr and caters to the Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman and Sibu markets. On the other hand, its Bintulu plant in Kidurong, produces 0.75Mt/yr and caters to the rapidly growing north-east region. Curtis said that the plan was to increase the Kuching plant output by another 0.4-0.5Mt/yr and increase that of Bintulu by 10%. He said it was much cheaper for the state to be able to produce its own cement rather than relying on imports from elsewhere in Malaysia.

Regarding the Sibu facility Curtis said that it represented a significant investment in upgrading the company's cement distribution capabilities statewide. "The distribution of fresh cement to the Sibu, Kapit, Mukah and Sarikei areas is made more reliable. Bulk cement manufactured in the Kuching plant is now being transported, using a fully-enclosed dust-free pneumatic pipeline on to one of the two dedicated purpose built 7000 DWT barges and barged to Sibu," he said.

Curtis added the all weather barges were built and operated for CMS by Shin Yang Shipping Sdn Bhd, one of the state's top shipbuilders. "Each of them is equipped with Sweddish-made fully enclosed dust-free pneumatic self-loading/unloading system and has a fully-enclosed cargo hold fitted with aeration panels and a fluidised cement transfer system.

Curtis used the opportunity to reassure customers in the region that although it is the only cement supplier in Malaysian Borneo, CMS would do its utmost to cope with the demand and to deliver as scheduled. "We will be constantly upgrading our facilities and delivery systems in order to give the best service. In the last five years, we have invested more than US$160m to do so," he said.

CMS had earlier said that it was looking to 'dominate' the cement market in Malaysian Borneo, a region that is significantly less developed than the western Peninsular region.

Malaysia: Lafarge Malayan has appointed Bradley Peter Mulroney as its president and chief executive officer and Malaysian Chen Theng Aik as its executive director.

Mulroney, aged 49, is a British national. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of London and he initially started his career with Redland plc, where he rose to the rank of a general manager. Redland was acquired by Lafarge SA in 1996.

Aik, aged 45 is a Malaysian who was previously the senior vice-president, finance and chief financial officer of Lafarge Malayan.

Malaysia: Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd's pre-tax profit for the quarter ending 30 June 2011 increased to USD34.86m from USD30.6m in the corresponding quarter of 2010. The company attributed the improved result mainly to higher revenue and share of better results from its associated company but added that this was partly offset by the higher cost of fuel and raw materials. A 10% increase in electricity tariff, which came in on 1 June 2011, further added to the cost of production. The company's revenue for the quarter rose to USD223.5m from USD198m in the 2010 quarter.

For the first six months of 2010, its pre-tax profit rose to USD57.9m from USD49.7m in 2010. Its six-month revenue rose to USD425.3m from USD381.8m. The company also attributed this 11% year-on-year increase in first half revenue to higher domestic sales volume and better selling prices.