Vietnam: The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed that the government transfers the management of Quang Son cement plant to the Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) from the Vietnam Industrial Construction Corporation (Vinaincon) due to high losses and mounting loans. Both companies are run by the government, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. The loans have grown to 95% of the total investment of US$153m of the project, putting financial pressure on Vinaincon.

Under the proposal, Vicem will have to take care of all the loans taken by Vinaincon for Quang Son cement plant, formerly known as Thai Nguyen cement plant. The project started commercial operation in July 2011 with a production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr of cement.

India: Police have arrested the owner of a factory near Gaurichak in Bihar manufacturing counterfeit cement. Over 5000 bags of cement were seized, according to the Telegraph of India newspaper. Cement bags falsely branded as Birla Gold, Lafarge and other companies were found at the site. Packaging machines were also impounded. Police said the unit was collecting expired bags of cement and reusing them. The investigation will now move on to finding contractors who have been selling the fake products.

Senegal: Trade minister Alioune Sarr says that the government will investigate a rise in the price of cement. He said that a committee has been set up to review the prices of essential commodoties including cement, according to PressAfrik. The decision follows a rise in the price of cement at the end of May 2018.

Italy: Colacem has purchased the Maddaloni cement plant from Italcementi. The transaction was part of the measures requried by the Italian Competition Authority when Italcementi acquired Cementir.

Ireland: CRH plans to reorganise its business structure into three core divisions in January 2019. Its European Heavyside and Asia operations, including cement production, will form into Europe Materials. Its Europe Lightside, Europe Distribution and Americas Products operations will form into Building Products. Its Americas Materials operations will remain as it is. The new divisions are expected to generate approximately 30%, 30% and 40% respectively of earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

CRH is also in the final stages of buying Ash Grove Cement in the US. The US$3.5bn deal will add eight cement plants across eight US states, combined with ready mix concrete, aggregates and associated logistics assets across the US Midwest to CRH’s portfolio. It will also increase the scope of its Americas Materials division. The deal had earlier been expected to close in May 2018.

Cambodia: The Battambang Conch Cement Company has officially inaugurated its US$230m plant in Rattanak district, Battambang province. The unit has a production capacity of 5000t/day, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper. The company intends to supply cement to Pursat, Pailin, Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces. The plant is a joint venture between China’s Conch International Holdings and local cement firm Battambang KT Cement.

Following the opening of the new unit Cambodia has a cement production capacity of 7Mt/yr from four plants. The country has six licenced cement plants including Kampot Cement, Cambodia Cement Chakrey Ting, Mong Insee Cement Corporation, Thai Boon Rong Cement, and Southern Cement Cambodia. Thai Boon Rong Cement, and Southern Cement Cambodia are projects that are currently being built.

Ukraine: China’s Anhui Conch has discussed building a cement plant in Odessa with Anatoliy Urbansky, the chairman of the Odessa Regional Council. Delegates from the General Consulate of China in Odessa and the Ukrainian branch of China Metallurgical Construction Engineering Group attended the meeting as well, according to Interfax. Anhui Conch is also considering building a construction materials park and investing in tourism in the region.

Brazil: SNIC, the national cement industry union, says that 70% of cement plants have suspended operation due to a strike by truck drivers. A survey the union ran found that less than 3% of the average daily cement distributed has been delivered to its final destination since the start of the strike action on 21 May 2018.

Before industrial action started the local cement industry distributed around 200,000t/day. At the start of the strike this fell to 10,000t/day and has since dropped further to 6000t/day. Paulo Camillo Penna, president of SNIC, said that the cement industry was suffering disproportionately because plants have been affected by raw materials failing to be delivered and lack of space to store cement inventory. SNIC expects that once the strike ends, it will take two to three weeks for production at cement plants to return to normal.

Jamaica: Cemex España, a subsidiary of Cemex, has agreed to lend Caribbean Cement US$102m to purchase assets mainly consisting of the Kiln 5 and Mill 5 processes at its plant at Rockfort plant Kingston. Any remaining funds will be used for ‘general corporate purposes.’ In May 2018 Caribbean Cement signed an agreement to buy plant equipment from its parent company Trinidad Cement for US$118m that was originally leased to it. Cemex owns a controlling stake in both companies.

Saudi Arabia: Sinoma International Engineering has agreed to pay an outstanding tax bill of US$3.5m to the Saudi tax bureau. The bill relates to a dispute in 2009 and 2010. The settlement includes delay charges and further charges are applicable if the bill is not paid by the end of June 2018. In 2016 the subsidiary of China national Building Materials (CNBM) was appealing against a charge of US$18m for unpaid tax in the mid 2000s.