China cement industry to raise prices

China cement industry to raise prices
16 May 2008


China’s cement industry plans to lift prices for the fourth time in the October to December period, 2008 as a result of eliminating 600Mt of backward production capacity and increasing industrial concentration, China Securities Journal reported.
 
Guo Jingbin, executive director of Anhui CONCH cement Co., Ltd, said that the company has lifted the price three times this year. The price went up 9.25 per cent year on year in the first quarter and up 8-10 per cent quarter on quarter in the second quarter.
 
Until the adjustment, China’s cement price had remained at a low level. Some companies even had their cement prices equal to those in the mid-90s, when the coal price surged from 110 yuan (US$15.70) ton to over 700 yuan/ ton. Therefore, their pre-tax profit margins were much less than the record highs, according to China United Cement Corporation. Published under Cement News