International
Colombia’s cement demand down 2.7% in February
Cement consumption in Colombia slipped 2.7 per cent YoY to 823,700t in February, according to Dane, the country’s national statistics bureau. Retail dispatches fell 5.7 per cent and were the key factor in the falling demand. Construction companies and contractors, on the other hand,...
New Nepalese factory begins production
Araniko Cement Industries has started production from its new plant in Jitpur, Bara, Narayani Zone of Nepal, as the cement industry gears up for further infrastructure and housing developments. “We have started pr...
Indian cement price hikes fail to hold in March
Cement price hikes initiated during February in the Indian market have failed to stick during March as demand remains subdued across the country. The Economic Times reports that a number of producers have been for...
Vietnam first-quarter production rises 2.1%
Vietnam is estimated to have produced 12.4Mt in the first quarter of 2013, representing a rise of 2.1 per cent YoY, the latest data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) shows. The government-run office has rev...
Pakistan cement producers deny cartel
Pakistan cement producers have denied the existence of a cement cartel, telling the Ministry of Industries that they are operating at the lowest rate of return. The Express Tribune reports that during a meeting wi...
Lafarge Malayan Cement mulls expansion
Lafarge Malayan Cement may expand capacity in a bid to maintain market share as local rivals increase capacity amid rising domestic demand. The company is the country's leading cement producer and currently occupi...
ASEC signs training programme initiative with Minya University, Egypt
ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix, two subsidiaries of ASEC Cement have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Minya University to help prepare students with the skills they need to seek meaningful employment in...
Vietnam market remains sluggish
The Vietnamese Ministry of Construction said that cement consumption was estimated at 3.7Mt in February, accounting for 7.4 per cent of this year’s plan. The cement market remained subdued though producers continued...
Moroccan cement market down 18% in 2M13
Cement demand in Morocco during the first two months of the year fell by 18 per cent as the recovery of the construction sector remains out of reach. Total cement consumption over the two months is 2.4Mt. Public w...
Zambia cement demand set for strong growth
Zambian cement demand is forecast to double over the next 10 years, according to the country’s largest cement producer Lafarge Zambia Cement. Domestic consumption in 2012 is expected to have reached 12Mt, having in...
China output climbs 10.8 per cent YoY
Cement production in China reached 237.29Mt in the first two months of 2013, an increase by 10.8 per cent from the same period of last year, according to latest data from the National Development and Reform Commissio...
Heracles to permanently close Halkis cement works, Greece
Heracles Cement, the largest cement producer in Greece, is to permanently close the doors on its Halkis cement plant as the company restructures its business to adjust to the struggling domestic construction and ceme...
South Africa cement project secures loan
South Africa-based Nedbank and Bank of China have agreed to provide a ZAR800m (US$86m) loan for a 1Mta greenfield cement plant in Limpopo. “A master finance agreement was entered into between Nedbank Capital and B...
Ecuador February cement sales rise 13.4%
Cement sales in Ecuador in February 2012 increased 13.4 per cent YoY to 447,928t compared to 395,047t in the same month of last year, data from the Ecuadorian Institute of Cement and Concrete (Inecyc) showed. Accu...
Indian producers struggle with flat market growth
Indian cement companies are experiencing challenging market conditions as subdued demand during the peak season is preventing producers from raising prices. Speaking to local press, M Ravinder Reddy, head of marke...
Semen Indonesia to begin Myanmar construction next year
PT Semen Indonesia is set to start construction of a new plant in Myanmar next year as part of the country's regional expansion drive. Citing the company’s president director Dwi Soetjipto, the Jakarta Post report...