Displaying items by tag: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: KPN Cement Lanka has launched a fly ash cement product in conjunction with Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement. The product, called Taishi Cement, will be available for large-scale infrastructure projects, real estate developments and government initiatives, according to the Daily Financial Times newspaper. KPN Cement Lanka and Taiheiyo Cement are also intending to promote an awareness programme for sustainable construction practices in the country.

Taiheiyo Cement launched an export hub for blended cements in June 2025 called the Saiki Ash Center in Saiki City, Oita Prefecture. The site is intended to export fly ash-based blended cement products to Southeast Asia. It has an export capacity 0.8Mt/yr.

Sri Lanka: Domestic cement demand rose to 4.71Mt since July 2024, up from 3.96Mt, according to Tokyo Cement. The company attributed the increase to the ‘latent demand and low base effect of the previous year.’ It said that local production has expanded, despite intensified competition from a new grinding operator and multiple cement importers, capitalising on the relaxed cement import restrictions. The company expects demand to improve further, supported by private sector-led construction and government infrastructure projects.

However, Tokyo Cement warned “The heightened volatility in the global trade policies and ongoing regional conflicts pose downside risks that add to the uncertainty and may jeopardise some of the hard-fought economic gains the country is working towards.”

It added “These factors may constrain capital inflows, dampen export prospects and impede economic recovery.”

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement Group has opened a new 1Mt/yr grinding plant in Trincomalee, Daily FT News has reported. The move raises the producer's capacity by 33%, to 4Mt/yr. Japan-based Mitsubishi Ube Cement Corporation was technical partner for the construction of the plant, which was executed entirely by Tokyo Cement Group’s in-house engineering teams.

Adani Group’s subsidiary Ambuja Cements signed a deal this week to buy Penna Cement for US$1.25bn. The agreement adds 14Mt/yr of cement production capacity to the group with a focus in the south of India. The acquisition is a big step towards the group’s target of reaching a capacity of 140Mt/yr by 2028. Ajay Kapur, the head of Ambuja Cements, also singled out the advantage the company hopes to gain from taking control of Penna Cement’s terminals saying that they would “prove to be a gamechanger by giving access to the eastern and southern parts of peninsular India.” The move is expected to increase the group’s market share in India by 2%, and by 8% in South India.

Penna Cement operates four integrated plants in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with a capacity of 7Mt/yr. Two of these units also include waste heat recovery installations and one has a captive power plant. It runs two grinding plants in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra with a capacity of 3Mt/yr. Another integrated plant is being built at Jodhpur in Rajasthan and a grinding plant at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Finally, the company owns four bulk cement terminals at Kolkata, Gopalpur, Karaikal and Kochi in India, one at Colombo in Sri Lanka and it also owns a 25,000t cement carrier.

Adani Group’s march towards that target of 140Mt/yr by 2028 started off in mid-2022 when it purchased Ambuja Cements and ACC from Holcim. This gave it a starting capacity of 68Mt/yr in the cement sector. Various smaller additions followed including new plants at Ametha and Dahej and the acquisitions of Asian Cement and Concrete, MyHome Industries and Sanghi Industries. The latter company was the biggest of these purchases. Once the in-progress projects from Penna Cement are built, Adani Group should have a capacity of 93Mt/yr. Another 20Mt/yr is reportedly at various stages of execution. The remaining 27Mt/yr is described as being ‘blueprint ready.’

Generally, the local financial press has been in favour of the transaction agreeing with the geographic advantages of Adani Group increasing its presence in the southern states. The benefits of the high number of railway sidings at Penna Cement’s plants were also commented upon as a means for Ambuja Cements to reduce its costs per tonne of cement. The logistics benefit from the port terminals is also expected by Adani Group’s chief financial officer to reduce the group’s logistics costs with an impact expected within the next year. However, it has been reported that Penna Cement’s operating performance had been weaker in the last financial year due to low sales volumes, poor operational efficiency and high coal costs. A takeover by Adani Group could certainly fix the latter two issues. Yet, it has also been reported that competition in the cement markets in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is up, due to a mismatch between supply and demand. So, improving Penna Cement’s capacity utilisation in these regions might be harder to solve than simply being absorbed into Adani Group.

India’s two largest cement producers both have plans in motion to mount up production capacity by the end of the decade in what has been dubbed ‘the battle of the billionaires.’ The market leader is UltraTech Cement and it has shown reluctance to cede ground to the cement newcomer Adani Group. The former company’s current target is to make it to just under 190Mt/yr by 2027. It said it had a capacity of 152Mt/yr in May 2024. It is ahead of Adani Group by this measure but there is still plenty of scope for surprises. Given the rivalry between the companies there is a regular stream of speculation about which of the smaller cement producers they might be about to buy at any given time. For example, in October 2023 HeidelbergCement India was rumoured to be courting offers from UltraTech Cement, Adani Group and JSW Cement. Last week, Adani Group was reportedly interested in buying either Saurashtra Cement, the cement business of Jaiprakash Associates, Vadraj Cement or… Penna Cement. Occasionally the rumours are true after all. UltraTech Cement remains in first place for now but the situation may change.

Sri Lanka: Switzerland-based SpectraFlow Analytics has received an order for a SpectraFlow Airslide analyser and raw mix proportioning software from Siam City Cement (Lanka). The equipment will analyse the composition of material exiting the raw materials mill at Siam City Cement (Lanka)’s Puttalam cement plant. The supplier says that this will help to increase kiln feed quality, lowering the chances of refractory problems and other causes of kiln stoppages.

SpectraFlow Analytics said “The ever increasing demand in cost savings and at the same time improving product quality led Siam City Cement (Lanka) to invest in the most advanced raw mill optimisation package available on the market.”

Sri Lanka: Praveen Gnanam has been appointed to the Board of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) as a Non-Independent Director. He joined Tokyo Cement in 2012 as Special Projects Coordinator and was promoted to Head of Innovation Department in 2015.

Gnanam holds over a decade of experience in the hardware and construction materials industry as well as in renewable energy. Prior to joining Tokyo Cement, he worked in consulting for Los Angeles-based firm Innovation Protocol, and as a Research Analyst and a Brand Associate for clients such as eBay, PayPal and Republic Waste Management.

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement (Lanka) has informed the Colombo Stock Exchange of an upcoming extraordinary general meeting of its shareholders. The meeting will decide whether to approve the sale of 10% of the company's shares.

Bangladesh: Cement producers and traders exported US$9.68m-worth of cement during the first nine months of the 2023 financial year. This corresponds to a year-on-year rise of 49% from US$6.51m during the first nine months of the 2022 financial year. The Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau is targeting full-year growth of 15% year-on-year to US$11m from US$9.57m. Maritime Gateway News has reported that MI Cement Factory contributed 50% of Bangladesh’s cement exports so far in the 2023 financial year.

Bangladesh’s main trade partners for its cement exports for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Sri Lanka: Bogala Graphite has launched its new cement-strengthening graphene oxide additive. Daily FT News has reported that potential investors will be able to discuss the new technology with Bogala Graphite at the forthcoming Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 exhibition later in February 2023.

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement recorded sales of US$74.8m during the first nine months of the 2023 financial year, up by 25% year-on-year. Its cost of sales dropped by 2% to US$49.7m, while its profit for the period rose by 60% to US$2.35m.