Displaying items by tag: Philippines
Eagle Cement to opens third line at Bulacan by 2018
06 April 2017Philippines: Eagle Cement hopes to open the third production line at its Bulacan cement plant by 2018. The new line will keep the cement producer on track to lead locally in terms of cement production capacity by 2020, according to the BusinessWorld newspaper. The new line will add 2Mt/yr to the plant’s capacity, increasing it to 7.1Mt/yr. Funding for the new line has been completed. Eagle Cement is also planning to start building a new plant at Cebu by the end of 2017. This plant is scheduled to start production in 2020.
Philippine Competition Commission expected to complete investigation of cement industry in first half of 2017
30 March 2017Philippines: Arsenio Balisacan, the chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), says that the commission has 90 days in which to conduct an investigation into the local cement industry. It is expected to complete its probe in the first half of 2017, according to the Manila Bulletin newspaper. The investigation period follows the point at which the PCC found reasonable grounds of alleged violations of competitive practice. Potential fines the local industry could face are US$2m for a first offence and US$5m for a second.
The PCC announced in early March 2017 that was preparing to investigate the cement sector for alleged violations of competitive practice following a legal statement by Victorio Dimagiba, the head of Laban Konsyumer – a consumer rights organisation, accusing the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP), LafargeHolcim Philippines and Republic Cement and Building Materials of engaging in anti-competitive agreements.
Philippines: APO Cement Corporation, a subsidiary of Cemex Philippines, has ordered a 4.5MW waste heat recovery unit from China’s Sinoma Energy Conservation. Sinoma will build and operate it. The new unit is expected to reduce the negative effects of power cuts, save energy costs and reduce the cement plant’s carbon emissions. No delivery date or cost of the order has been disclosed.
Philippines: The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has reduced the permit requirements for cement producers and other mineral extractors. Following orders by President Rodrigo Duterte to reduce red tape and redundancy in government the bureau says that cement producers and contractors holding quarry and industrial sand and gravel (ISG) permits are no longer required to secure mineral processing permits (MPP). The change is effective immediately. It has also clarified that the actual production of cement is covered already under the manufacturing sector and does not require an MPP. The MGB added that it is reviewing other existing policies on mining tenement requirements.
Cement Manufacturers Association of Philippines seeks ‘fair’ treatment in competition investigation
09 March 2017Philippines: The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) has asked that the local industry be treated fairly in an investigation by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC). In a press statement, Ernesto M Ordoñez, President of CEMAP said that his association had not been notified or given a copy of a compliant filed by a legal firm, according to the Manila Bulletin. He added that the association’s lawyers had previously tried to find out more about the complaint in late January 2017 but had not had a reply.
"Fairness requires that both sides are heard. Not only were we not given a chance to be heard. More than a month after our letter to PCC asking for what the complaint is about so we could give our side, we still have no reply from PCC. We just found out about the nature of the complaint through the newspapers. This is one-sided and unfair, specially considering the track records of the subjects of the complaint," said Ordoñez.
The PCC announced in early March 2017 that was preparing to investigate the cement industry for alleged violations of competitive practice following a legal statement by Victorio Dimagiba, a former trade undersecretary, in August 2016 accusing CEMAP, LafargeHolcim Philippines and Republic Cement and Building Materials of engaging in anti-competitive agreements.
Philippines: The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is preparing to investigate the cement industry for alleged violations of competitive practice. It says it has found reasonable grounds to proceed to a full administrative investigation on the cement industry for possible violations of Sections 14 and 15 of the Philippine Competition Act, according to the Philippine Star newspaper. This follows a legal statement by Victorio Dimagiba, a former trade undersecretary, in August 2016 accusing the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP), LafargeHolcim Philippines and Republic Cement and Building Materials of engaging in anti-competitive agreements.
Dimagiba has accused the cement producers of striking illegal agreements including, “restricting competition as to price or components thereof or other terms of trade, abusing their dominant position by engaging in conduct that substantially prevents, restricts, or lessens competition, imposing barriers to entry, or committing acts that prevent competitors from growing within the market.” He has also alleged that Ernesto Ordonez, the head of CEMAP, has used the trade association to justify violating the Philippine Competition Act, as well as maintaining prices of domestic cement in the retail market ‘unreasonably’ high.
Ordonez responded to the claims saying that he was puzzled about the PCC’s decision and that CEMAP had not been informed about a preliminary inquiry.
Philippines: Eagle Cement is planned an initial public offering (IPO) of US$183m to partly pay for a US$249m cement plant it wants to build in Cebu. The plant will have a cement production capacity of 2Mt/yr when complete, according to the Philippines Star newspaper. The project will also include building a distribution centre and marine terminals in Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao regions. Additional financing will be sourced though debt funding and internal sources. Construction is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the project is anticipated to be finished in the first quarter of 2010.
Philippine cement sales rise by 6.6% to 26Mt in 2016
01 March 2017Philippines: Cement sales rose by 6.6% year-on-year to 26Mt in 2016 from 24.4Mt in 2015 the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) has said. CEMAP president Ernesto Ordonez attributed the increase in sales to ‘continuing momentum for increased infrastructure,’ according to the Philippines Star newspaper. Despite this sales, volumes fell in the fourth quarter of the year. Ordonez blamed this on the run-up to the elections in 2016 and bad weather. Increased public and private infrastructure spending is expected to keep the local cement industry buoyant in 2017.
Vietnam cement exports drop to 14.7Mt in 2016
06 February 2017Vietnam: Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs has shown that exports of cement fell by 7.1% year-on-year to 14.7Mt in 2016 and by 16% year-on-year to US$561m in value. Bangladesh and the Philippines remained the major importers of cement and clinker from Vietnam in 2016, according to the Vietnam News newspaper. The Philippines imported 3.8Mt of cement and clinker worth US$185m from Vietnam in 2016 and Bangladesh imported 4.7Mt worth US$141m, accounting for 33% and 25.1% respectively of the country’s total clinker and cement exports in 2016. Increased competition in export markets has been blamed on rival products from Thailand and China.
Philippines: Holcim Philippines’ Bacnotan and Norzagaray cement plants have won awards for energy efficiency at the 2016 Don Emilio Abello Energy Efficiency Awards. The plants won Awards of Recognition for representing the Philippines in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Competition Best Practice for Energy Management in Buildings and Industries. The La Union plant was cited for its use of alternative fuel and raw materials to reduce its coal consumption, while Bulacan was recognized for its best practices in energy management through process improvements.
Plants operated by Holcim Philippines in Misamis Oriental and Davao City picked up awards for energy efficiency in 2015. In 2014, the company’s Bulacan plant was elevated to the Hall of Fame for receiving the Outstanding Award for three consecutive years.
The Don Emilio Abello Energy Efficiency Awards, run by the Department of Energy, recognise firms that significantly reduce their energy consumption. Participating companies submit consumption reports that are evaluated by energy officials from the public and private sector. The award is a tribute to Emilio Abello, the former Meralco chairman and chief executive officer.