Egypt: new licences may threaten Misr Cement

The Egyptian government will announce the results of the license 8 tender on 30 July, which will see the addition of new production capacity to compete with current companies in the market. Beltone Financial said that the future of Misr Cement-Qena’s market share is under threat, as the company currently occupies the second position in the market, following Cemex.

Beltone has predicted that cement prices in the country will remain low, at a price of EGP500/t (US$56.33/t), until 2018, compared to EGP700 (US$78.86) in 2016. This is due to the extensive supply, based on the current production capacity.

Meanwhile, Alexandria Portland Cement saw a 70 per cent decrease in production capacity due to diesel, heavy fuel oil and clinker shortages. A source at the company has said that it has resorted to importing clinker to offset the shortage.