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Export lifeline for Vietnam’s cement producers 13 May 2015
Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) said that growing cement exports have helped domestic cement plants to slash inventories in recent years.
Vietnam produced around 70.6Mt of cement in 2014, 15% higher than 2013. Domestic consumption totalled 50.9Mt, while export sales reached 21.1Mt, up by 10% and 30% year-on-year respectively. Big producers like Vicem, Nghi Son, Chinfon, Thang Long Vina, Vissai and Thang Long contributed 80% of total cement exports in 2014. Their major markets were Bangladesh, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of VNCA, said that the supply - demand balance would continue to improve in 2015 as demand for construction materials in the country and abroad is forecast to pick up. However, the VNCA warned that local cement enterprises would have to cope with fiercer competition at home and abroad. Cung said that Cong Thanh Cement Co would commission a 3.6Mt/yr clinker line in Thanh Hoa in June 2015. In addition, the Dong Lam and Thach My cement plants have run at full capacity so far in 2015. An imbalance between supply and demand might occur if clinker and cement exports decline as Vietnam now faces tough competition from other exporting countries like China, South Korea and Thailand.
Sri Lanka: Lafarge Mahaweli Cement is on schedule with its Savi Piyasa housing programme and has now partnered with nine leading brands in the construction sector and two commercial banks to add value to its technical assistance scheme for individual homebuilders.
Under its 'Building Better Cities' theme, Lafarge has helped many families around the world to have better, affordable housing facilities and hopes to provide decent housing to two million people worldwide by 2020.
In Sri Lanka, Lafarge has already provided architectural assistance to 220 families in the Western and Northern Province. With the intention of providing even better options for its Savi Piyasa clients, Lafarge has now entered into partnerships with several leading brands, enabling it to receive special discounts on a large variety of building materials such as steel, paints, glass, PVC pipes, etc. Moreover, Lafarge has tied up with commercial banks and microfinance institutions to provide their customers with easy access to loan facilities.
"We started this programme a year ago and we have been getting a lot of positive feedback. A package integrating architectural assistance, special discounts and financial facility has not been offered in Sri Lanka before, so I am confident that the individual homebuilders in the country will find interest in this turnkey solution," said Lafarge Mahaweli Cement managing director Anurag Kak.
Italy: Cementir Holding has reported a pre-tax profit of Euro3.8m in the first quarter of 2015 compared with a pre-tax loss of Euro1.8m in the same period of 2014. Revenues fell by 0.9% to Euro205m. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 1.6% to Euro24.2m. Net financial debt widened to Euro326m at the end of March 2015 from Euro278m at the end of 2014. For the entire 2015, Cementir expects an EBITDA of some Euro190m and a net financial debt of around Euro230m.
Dangote appoint Douraid Zaghouani as non-executive director
Written by Global Cement staff
13 May 2015
Nigeria: Dangote Cement has appointed Douraid Zaghouani as a non-executive director with effect from 29 April 2015. Zaghouani holds a degree in Civil Engineering from École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État in France and is also a graduate in Business Administration from the École Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales business school in Paris.
Zaghouani is presently the Chief Operating Officer of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD). In this role, he supports the CEO's Office in corporate strategy development and is responsible for the efficient operational management of the organization.
Co-processing cashews
Written by Amy Saunders, Global Cement
13 May 2015
At the 24th AFCM Technical Symposium in April 2015, Nguyen Quoc Thang, plant manager at Vicem's Binh Phuoc cement plant, delivered an outstanding presentation. He explained the sourcing and processing methods for using cashew nut shells as an alternative fuel to replace coal at the plant.
Around 300,000t/yr of cashews are grown and harvested in the south-east of Vietnam, the equivalent of about 130,000t/yr of cashew nut shell, 85% of which remains after processing. According to Nguyen Quoc Thang, the plant uses cashew nut shells to replace 35% of its fuel and has significantly reduced its CO2 emissions and fuel costs by doing so.
Cashew nuts are grown in large quantities in Brazil, India, Nigeria, Vietnam, the Ivory Coast, Pakistan and Indonesia, among others. In 2012, some 4.15Mt of cashew nuts were grown. Cashew nut demand has risen greatly in both the long-term and the more recent past. New (and delicious) products are being designed to meet the demands of health-conscious people and vegans, including cashew nut butters, cashew milks, cashew cream, cashew ice cream, cashew cheese and cashew cooking sauces. All at premium prices, of course, and all driving cashew nut demand ever-higher.
Cashew nuts are always sold pre-shelled, as the shell is toxic if consumed. Their growing production volumes and the necessity that they always be pre-shelled for sale or further processing makes cashew nuts an ideal alternative fuel for cement production, with reliable supplies guaranteed for the foreseeable future, subject to good crop yields. Moreover, cashew nuts are mainly grown in regions that currently have low cement plant alternative fuel substitution rates, providing an instant solution to some of the cement industry's environmental challenges.
Cement producers in cashew nut-growing (and other types of nut) countries would do well to note the example that Vicem's Binh Phuoc cement plant has presented. In addition to saving costs and tackling environmental restrictions, the highly-profitable nut industries could provide extra economic value to their home countries through partnership with local cement plants.