Indonesia: Cement sales rose by 8.4% year-on-year to 16.4Mt in the first quarter of 2018 from 15.1Mt in the same period in 2017. Particular rises were noted in Central Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan, according to data from the Indonesian Cement Association. Total exports of cement and clinker rose by 79.6% to 0.70Mt from 0.39Mt.
UltraTech Cement raises offer for Binani Cement to US$1.21bn
India: UltraTech Cement has raised its direct offer to buy Binani Cement to US$1.21bn. Previously it made a direct offer of US$1.11bn to Binani Cement in the form of a so-called ‘comfort letter’ that Binani Industries used to stop the insolvency process. UltraTech Cement made this latest offer to the resolution professional handling the insolvency process of Binani Cement, according to the Economic Times newspaper. The move follows a decision by the Supreme Court on 13 April 2018 to block UltraTech Cement’s first offer. However, the court will consider a plea by a group of operational creditors that is backing the higher offer in late-April 2018.
Tajik cement production doubles in the first quarter of 2018
Tajikistan: Cement production has more than doubled to 0.78Mt in the first quarter of 2018 from 0.36Mt in the same period in 2016. The rise has been attributed to new infrastructure projects, increased residential construction and higher exports, according to the Azer News newspaper. 172,000t of cement was exported to Uzbekistan, 131,000t to Afghanistan and 19,000t to Kyrgyzstan. 3.1Mt of cement was produced in the country in 2017 and over 1Mt of this was exported to the three countries led by Afghanistan.
The country has 13 cement producers with a total production capacity of over 4Mt/yr. However, the country is estimated to only need up to 3.5Mt/yr.
East African Portland Cement relying on land sale to remain solvent
Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPC) is relying on a US$100m land sale to the government to remain solvent. The company is in discussions to sell over 14,000 acres of land to the newly established Special Economy Zones Authority funds, according to the East African newspaper. The cement producer has seen its production halted, cement stocks depleted and staff salaries delayed over the last two months. It reported a loss of US$9.58m in the second half of 2017 from a loss of US$2.45m in the same period in 2016.
