Displaying items by tag: Singapore

Singapore/Sri Lanka: The Ceylon Institute of Builders has awarded Tokyo Super Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) with a 'Green Mark.'

The Green Mark is a Singaporean product label, accredited internationally by the Building Construction Authority (Singapore), the Green Building Council (Singapore), the Chartered Institute of Builders (UK), as well as locally by the Ceylon Institute of Builders, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Construction and the Central Environmental Authority. Tokyo Super PPC is the only cement brand with a sustainable accreditation and is frequently recommended by sustainable building consultants as, 'The highest quality product, with minimal environmental impact, on the market.'

Tokyo Super PPC was given the green accreditation for the following reasons:

- Its local manufacturing is powered by carbon-neutral biomass energy that is locally-generated with the repurposing of agricultural waste;
- It is a renewable energy project in compliance with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) standards and is awarded carbon credits annually;
- It uses coal fly ash from Norochcholai power plant, recycling locally-generated waste in a useful manner;
- It minimises the energy required in cement grinding by using fly ash;
- It minimises CO₂ emissions by substituting clinker with non-limestone based material, thereby reducing the energy requirement for kilning;
- It has International Certification in Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001) and Quality Management Systems (ISO 9000) and was the model from which local standards were set (SLS 1427);

Tokyo Super PPC, although less expensive than Ordinary Portland Cement, is not just the greener choice but also the stronger one. It offers as much as 10% higher strength after 98 days.

Japan/Singapore: Taiheiyo Cement, which operates a cement terminal in Singapore through Singapore Cement Manufacturing (SCMC), a joint venture with Singapore-based Hong Leong Asia Ltd, has completed a new 24,000t cement silo at SCMC's cement terminal in Singapore.

Infrastructure investment, including subway and highway construction, is driving the robust cement market in Singapore and fuelling demand for low-heat-type cement as a way to prevent thermal cracking in concrete structures with large cross-sections (so-called mass concrete).

Coinciding with the construction of SCMC's new silo, Taiheiyo Cement has developed a new type of cement specifically formulated to satisfy Singapore's local needs. The new export-oriented product, which is manufactured using Portland cement and admixture ingredients such as fly ash from coal-fired power plants, qualifies as type CEM II as defined by Singapore's cement quality standard (SS EN 197-1). The new cement has greater resistance to thermal cracking due to its low-heat and low-shrinkage characteristics, higher long-term strength, improved workability and lower alkali-silica reactivity. It is also certified under the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS) and therefore carries a Green Label in recognition of its environmental friendliness, which was demonstrated during a series of tests carried out with the cooperation of local users and experts. SCMC also used the new cement in the construction of its new silo and in the process verified its performance.

Taiheiyo plans to manufacture the product using fly ash that has been selected, formulated and managed with the cooperation of domestic Japanese power companies. It is expected to contribute to the effective use of fly ash from newly-built coal-fired power plants in Japan. Going forward, SCMC plans to use the new silo for CEM II, complementing its Ordinary Portland Cement and expanding its business through the supply of new cement that meets local needs.

Singapore: Lafarge and Holcim have received approval from the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) to merge their businesses in the country.

Holcim (Singapore) and Lafarge Cement Singapore overlap in the manufacture and supply of ready-mix concrete and grey cement. Under Singapore's Competition Act, firms are not allowed to merge if the resulting entity could lead to a substantial lessening of competition in any market. However, Lafarge and Holcim argued that they would not have substantial market power after the merger. Grey cement is also imported to Singapore by Holcim primarily for its own consumption and is supplied to third parties only to a limited extent, they said.

After a public consultation exercise, the CSS issued its decision that 'The transaction is unlikely to lead to substantial competition concerns in Singapore.' This was because the firms are not major players in Singapore, despite being major names in overseas markets. The CSS added, "There is significant localised competition in the relevant overlapping markets in Singapore."
There are also alternative suppliers that can meet any additional demand for ready-mix concrete, thereby limiting the market power of the merged companies. With a number of suppliers in the market, cooperation among firms to raise prices will be harder as well, according to the CSS.

UK/Singapore: The private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is in discussion with Singapore's Government Investment Corporation (GIC) about a combined bid for assets being sold by Holcim and Lafarge as they prepare to merge, according to Sky News. CVC is also understood to be talking to other state investment funds about the proposed deal.

At least two other private equity groups have been formed to bid for the divestments that Holcim and Lafarge are preparing to sell. Blackstone has teamed up with Cinven and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. BC Partners and Advent International are also preparing a joint bid. Initial offers are understood to be due in September 2014.

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.