Turkey: Göltaş Çimento and AS Çimento are being investigated by the Turkish Competition Authority for alleged price fixing of cement. The government body says that its preliminary investigation in early May 2018 has discovered ‘serious’ findings. Further investiation will follow to examine whether the law has been broken and whether fines are applicable. Both cement producers operate plants in the southwest of the country.

Bangladesh: The local cement industry has a cement production utilisation rate of 54%. Cement consumption was 27.1Mt in 2017, according to the Daily Star newspaper. However, the country had a production capacity of 50.2Mt/yr in 2017 from around 45 companies of various sizes. Production capacity is expected to grow to 80Mt/yr by 2019.

Masud Khan, the chief executive officer of Crown Cement Group, forecasts that cement consumption will grow by 8 – 10% by 2022. He blamed the local oversupply on an overpopulated market. Other issues the local industry faces include a recent rise in the price of raw materials, port congestion which causes delay in unloading raw materials, a lack of smaller ships, local currency depreciation, low retail price and low load limits on local roads.

Uganda: The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives has backed down from allowing bulk imports of cement into the country following price stabilisation. The market faced soaring prices in April 2018, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. The ministry said that prices have returned to the level they were before the crisis. In April 2018 the government asked cement producers to resolve a local cement shortage. Local companies Hima Cement and Tororo Cement blamed the problem on reduced electricity supplies to their plants.

Peru: Invercem plans buy equipment for a 0.25Mt/yr cement grinding plant in August 2018. The president of the company, Victor de la Torre, will travel to Spain to finalise the deal, according to the Gestión newspaper. Previously the project was scheduled to start in late 2017. Invercem imports cement from HeidelbergCement at Salaverry near Trujillo. It then bags and sells it locally under the Qhuna brand.

UK: Tarmac’s Women in Cement group has held its first networking event with colleagues from across the company’s cement and lime business coming together to discuss key industry challenges and opportunities. The event was attended by team members from the businesses supply chain and logistics, customer service, health and safety and cement plant teams. It included a range of discussion topics and presentations, from personal protective equipment (PPE) and welfare facilities to profiling role models and opportunities to attract more women to pursue careers at Tarmac and in the wider construction industry.

“It has been fantastic to bring together colleagues from across the business to share their experiences and continue our work to collaborate and drive positive change. We’re looking forward to building and broadening activities across Tarmac and continuing to encourage people from all age groups, genders nationalities and ethnicities to be part of the debate and help to define opportunities for development and progress,” said Johanna O’Driscoll, Tarmac’s finance director.

The Women in Cement group is one of a number of diversity and inclusion initiatives across Tarmac. The company has partnered with organisations including the Taylor Bennett Foundation, Skillforce and the Career Transition Partnership, which all focus on supporting people from diverse backgrounds into jobs.

Mozambique: President Filipe Nyusi has inaugurated the 0.25Mt/yr Cimentos de Maiaia plant in Nacala. The US$10m project was a joint venture between Chinese firms and local investors, according to the Mozambique News Agency. Chinese investors provided 85% of the funding. The new plant is the third in the port of Nacala. Cimentos de Maiaia plans to focus on markets in the north of the country.

Nigeria: Ibeto Cement has signed a deal with Milost Global for US$850m. The US-based private equity firm will provide US$500m in equity and US$350m as debt to the cement producer, according to Bloomberg. In a separate development Ibeto Cement has also entered into a reverse merger with Century Petroleum, an oil and gas exploration company.

Ibeto Cement has operated a cement terminal in Port Harcourt since 2005. It is also renovating the former Nigercem plant in Nkalagu. It announced a US$386m contract with China’s Sinoma in late 2015 to build a cement plant in Enugu.

Rwanda: Vincent Munyeshyaka, the Minister of Trade and Industry, says that traders who are charging too much for cement will be fined. He told the New Times newspaper that about 30 traders have been fined for cement price speculation so far. Fines range up to about US$350. The country has faced a shortage of cement since February 2018 when local producer Cimerwa started upgrade work at its Bugarama plant.

Pakistan: Germany’s Loesche has sold four vertical roller mills (VRM) to Bestway Cement through China’s Sinoma International Engineering. The mills will be used to upgrade Bestway Cement’s Farooqia plant in the Punjab province. No expected date of commissioning or value for the order has been disclosed.

The order consists of one raw mill, one coal mill and two clinker mills. One four-roller mill VRM with a capacity of 450t/hr will be used to grind cement raw material to a fineness of 12% with sieving residue of R 90μm. Two further mills with a throughput of 170t/hr will serve for the subsequent grinding of cement clinker to a fineness of 3200 Blaine. One large modular VRM with a capacity of 40t/hr will be used in the grinding of coal to a fineness of 10% and R 90μm sieving residue.

India: Binani Cement's committee of creditors (COC) has accepted a bid by UltraTech Cement. The COC will now submit UltraTech Cement’s plan to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for approval, according to the Times of India newspaper. However, the Supreme Court is also looking at the case following a petition by rival bidder Dalmia Bharat.

UltraTech Cement made a direct bid of US$1.12bn for the bankrupt Binani Cement following an auction in March 2018 that was originally won by Dalmia Bharat. Dalmia Bharat has disputed UltraTech Cement’s offer and the two companies have conducted legal campaigns to reinforce their respective claims.