Anhui Conch says China cement prices to fall in 2009

Anhui Conch says China cement prices to fall in 2009
16 October 2008


Anhui Conch Cement Co, China’s biggest maker of the building material, said prices will decrease early next year on cooling demand for new property and infrastructure in some regions. The shares fell by the most in more than seven years.

The slump in China’s property market may cause the company to be more ``cautious’’ in planning future expansion, Board Secretary Zhang Mingjing said today. The company will go through with already-planned investments and banks are continuing to extend funds even amid the global credit crunch, Zhang said.

China’s economy grew at the slowest pace since 2005 in the second quarter as the property market shrank, causing cement demand to fall in some areas. Housing prices in Shanghai, China’s biggest financial center, fell 20 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, Savills Plc said yesterday.

“This season last year was a peak season for cement demand,’’ Zhang said in an interview, without giving prices. ``This year, we may not see much of a peak.”


Published under Cement News