India: Jaiprakash Associates has narrowed its loss to US$23m in the third quarter of its financial year from US$171m in the same period in 2016. Despite this its income fell by 30% year-on-year to US$178m from US$258m, according to the Press Trust of India. The company has sold its assets, including a large number cement plants to UltraTech Cement, to reduce debt.

France: Syndicat Français de l’Industrie Cimentière (SFIC), the French cement union, has launched Cement Lab, an initiative intended to connect startup companies to the cement industry. Bénédicte de Bonnechose, president of the SFIC, unveiled the project that will link new companies, industry and academia at Station F, a business incubator for startup located at the former Halle Freyssinet railway depot in Paris. Startups featured at the event included Combo Solution, 360 Smart Connect, XtreeE, Smart Cast and Red Bird, who are offering a drone-based method for mine and quarry visualisation.

France: Bénédicte de Bonnechose of the Syndicat Français de l’Industrie Cimentière (SFIC), the French cement union, says that the market is expected to have grown by 3 - 4% in 2017. Cement consumption reached 17.5Mt in 2016, according to the Agence France Press. De Bonnechose described the growth as a ‘sharp signal’ that the French cement industry was recovering following hitting its lowest levels since the 1960s.

Zambia: The High Court of Zambia has set 25 February 2018 as the date it will hand down a judgement on a case involving Zambezi Portland Cement (ZPC) between businessman Rajan Mahtani and the Vetriglia family. The case concerns a battle over the shares and management of the company between Mahtani and members of the Vetriglia family, according to the Times of Zambia. Mahtani originally attempted to close the company in 2015 but the original owners resisted the attempt. However, Mahtani maintains that he holds a majority share in the cement producer.