Australia: James Hardie has informed investors that it has frozen all non-critical hiring. The Australian newspaper has reported that the move is designed to counteract the impacts of a rise in costs. The company also plans to announce a new round of price rises on its products.

Afghanistan: Ghori Cement has restarted production at its Baghlan plants near Pul-e-Khumr in Baghlan province after a stoppage of four months. Production halted at the units due to the high price of coal, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. The government is now supplying coal to the plants at a pre-agreed price. Other local news sources report that production has increased to 520t/day from 350t/day previously, following work on a variety of technical issues.

Tajikistan: Cement production fell by 7% year-on-year to 2Mt in the first half of 2022 from 2.16Mt in the same period in 2021. The Avesta News Agency reports no reason for the decline but it noted that the construction sector had grown so far in 2022. The country’s cement industry exports around 1.5Mt/yr to neighbouring countries including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

India: Visaka Industries plans to spend US$15m towards building a new fibre cement board plant in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The unit will be the company’s fifth cement board plant and the first in the state, according to the Press Trust of India. The project will include solar power generation via roof panels.