Global Cement News

India: ACC will set up a 1.5Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Kharagpur in West Midnapore district, its Chief Executive (East) Vivek Chawla has announced. Building of the US$88.4m project is planned to start by January 2014.

"The company will invest US$88.4m for setting up the 1.5Mt/yr factory at Kharagpur," said Chawla.

Tanzania: Pascal Lesoinne, the chairman of the East African Cement Producers' Association (EACPA), has denied that a cartel exists in the Tanzanian cement market. His comments arose at a press conference in Dar es Salaam following action by the Tanzanian government to investigate cement imports from Pakistan.

"Repeated accusations of there being a cartel are nonsense as competition is fierce in the market and there are many players. Cement is a hot cake of which everybody wants to have a share," said Lesoinne in a presentation on the benefits of the cement industry to Tanzania's economy. Leading cement producers in Tanzania include HeidelbergCement, Afrisam and Lafarge. Lesoinne cited taxation and jobs as two principal benefits of Tanzania's local cement industry.

Confederation of Tanzania Industry (CTI) figures indicate that in 2012 over 200,000t of cement were imported from Pakistan to Tanzania. Industry players say it is difficult for local manufacturers to compete with imports, largely due to high costs of production in the country, with electricity costs in Tanzania being four times higher than in China and Egypt, according to EACPA figures. Lesoinne called for the government to create a 'level playing field' between locally produced and imported cement.

In late July 2013 the Tanzania government formed a seven person team to investigate alleged subsidies, tax evasion and the quality of cement imported from Pakistan.

Portugal: Poor cement sales in Portugal and Angola have reduced Semapa's net profit by 52.3% year-on-year to Euro39.3m for the first six months of 2013 from Euro82.3m in the same period in 2012.

Sales in Portugal fell by 15.2% to Euro82.2m for the period and sales in Angola fell by 20% to Euro11.6m. In Portugal Semapa blamed the on-going decline in the construction sector. In Angola it blamed imports from China. Despite political instability and regional variation in Tunisia, sales rose slightly by 0.5% to Euro36m for the period. Sales in Lebanon rose by 5.4% to Euro44.7m.

Overall the Portuguese conglomerate, which holds businesses in cement, pulp and paper and environmental services, saw its sales rise by 4.5% year-on-year to Euro990m for the first half of 2013. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11.6% to Euro202m.

Belgium: The Belgian Competition Council has fined three cement producers and two related organisations Euro14.7m for restricting competition in the Belgian cement market. In a statement, the Belgian Competition Council accused HeidelbergCement subsidiary CBR, Italcementi subsidiary CCB, Holcim Belgium, FEBELCEM and the national centre for technical and scientific research for the cement industry (CRIC/OCCN) of concerted behaviour.

According to the council, the accused parties acted in a coordinated manner between May 2000 and October 2003 to delay the adoption of a licence and of standards allowing ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) to be used as a component for ready-mix concrete. The cement producers and FEBELCEM sought to protect their own interests in selling cement for ready-mix concrete and CRIC/OCCN aided them in doing this.

The council noted that Irish GGBS producer Orcem had its import of GGBS to Belgium delayed due to the anticompetitive practices.

Myanmar: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has announced that it will build a 1.8Mt/yr greenfield cement plant costing US$386m in Mawlamyine, Myanmar. The plant will include a 40MW captive power plant, a 9MW waste heat recovery system, supporting port facilities and other infrastructures for future expansion.

"The Myanmar cement market is estimated at approximately 4Mt in the 2012 financial year and is forecasted to grow at 10%/yr over the next five years," said president and CEO of SCG, Kan Trakulhoon.

Built under Myanmar's Foreign Investment Law, the cement plant is expected to start in mid-2016.