India: Ramco Cements has entered into an agreement with Ramco Industries, a fellow subsidiary of Ramco Group, to buy a 216,000t/yr grinding plant at Kharagpur in West Bengal. The deal covers the land and equipment at the site. The cement producer will pay US$2.6m as part of the agreement.
Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology takes action against seven cement producers
Nepal: The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) has taken action against seven cement producers that have broken its standards in the current financial year that runs to mid-July 2018. The bureau found defects in product declarations made by the industries, according to the Republica newspaper. The sanctioned cement companies were MJP Cement, Ganapati Cement, Hetauda Cement, National Cement, Supreme Cement, Himalayas Cement and Nepal Ambuja Cement. The bureau has suspended the license of MJP Cement and asked the other companies not to sell their products until the quality is restored.
The cement producers were found to be breaking the quality of their products, incorrectly declaring products and failing to meet technical requirements such as the compressive strength grade mandated by the Nepal Standard Regulations. The NBSM has asked all the companies to provide it with written clarification within 15 days of the inspection.
Insee Cement and Tokyo Cement approved by Sri Lanka Consumer Affairs Authority to raise prices
Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has allowed Insee Cement and Tokyo Cement to increase the prices of a 50kg bag of cement. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce gave its approval subject to the ratification of the CAA as it is a price-controlled commodity, according to the Times of Sri Lanka newspaper. The cement producers made the request to raise their prices due to increasing costs of raw materials. However, the country’s three other producers have not made any request to the CAA to raise their prices and the cost of imported cement is reported unchanged.
Hurricanes and poor markets hit Trinidad Cement’s sales in 2017
Trinidad & Tobago: Storms and a poor market in Trinidad and Tobago have reduced Trinidad Cement’s sales in 2017. Its sales revenue fell by 9% year-on-year to US$254m in 2017 from US$280m in 2016. It made a loss of US$37.8m in 2017 compared to a profit of US$7.77m in 2016. However, the group reported that Jamaica was an exception and that it continued to display ‘robust’ economic growth that partly offset the group’s falling sales.
