Displaying items by tag: Indonesia
Indocement to open Palembang terminal in first quarter of 2018
26 January 2018Indonesia: Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, plans to open a new 1Mt/yr terminal at Palembang in South Sumatra in the first quarter of 2018. The unit is in the final stage of construction and scheduled for commissioning in March 2018, according to Kontan News. The new unit will allow the cement producer to sell bulk cement and it is expected to increase its presence in Sumatra.
Siam Cement plans to broaden products and services in Indonesia
27 December 2017Indonesia: Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SCG) plans to diversify its products and services in 2018. Country director Nantapong Chantrakul made the comments, according to the Nation newspaper. SCG has supplied construction materials for several state-run infrastructure projects, including state-owned construction firm PT Wijaya Karya, materials for the construction of toll roads in South Sumatra and Jakabaring Stadium and a 2018 Asian Games venue in Palembang.
China Triumph International Engineering starts building cement plant at Grobogan in Indonesia
25 December 2017Indonesia: China Triumph International Engineering (CTIE) has started building a 2.1Mt/yr cement plant at Grobogan, Semarang in Central Java. Its subsidiary Nanjing Kisen International Engineering is responsible for the project design and equipment procurement, according to Inside International Industrials. CTIEC signed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with with Giti Tire in November 2016. The project has a cost of US$350m.
2017 in Cement
20 December 2017To mark the end of the calendar year we’re going to round up some of the major news stories from the cement industry in 2017. Like last year this piece also complements the corresponding article ‘The global cement industry in 2017’ in the December 2017 issue of Global Cement Magazine. Remember, this is just one view of the year's events. If you think we've missed anything important let us know via LinkedIn, Twitter or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Recovery in Europe
2017 was the year that the European cement industry finally had something to shout about after a lost decade since the financial crash of 2007. The good news was led by a revival in cement consumption in 2016 that looks set to have continued in 2017. Prospects in Germany and Spain feel similar and a series of mergers and acquisitions have taken place in Italy suggesting that investors believe that the market is about to recover there too. Sure, Brexit is looming but as contacts have told Global Cement staff throughout the year, if the British want to damage their economy, that’s their business.
Renewal and recrimination at LafargeHolcim
Lafarge’s conduct in Syria during the civil war has cost its successor company LafargeHolcim dear, with the loss of its chief executive officer (CEO) Eric Olsen and potential reputational damage if the on-going investigation in Paris finds fault. At the time of writing Olsen, former Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont and the former deputy managing director for operations Christian Herraul are all being questioned by the inquiry into the affair as it attempts to determine who knew what and when. LafargeHolcim has drawn a line under the debacle by appointing outsider Jan Jenisch as its new CEO in mid-2017. He has made changes to the group’s management structure that were announced this week but has he done enough? If anything truly ‘explosive’ emerges from the investigation, the question for anyone across the world buying LafargeHolcim’s products may be whether or not they want to finance extremism through their purchase.
US doesn’t build wall but does okay anyway
The US Portland Cement Association (PCA) may keep downgrading its forecasts of cement consumption growth but the local industry is doing fairly well anyway. All sorts of cement producers with a presence in the US have benefited from the market, despite extreme weather events like Hurricane Irma. President Donald Trump may not have delivered on his infrastructure development promises or built his fabled wall yet but his recently-approved tax reforms are likely to benefit the profits of cement producers. The decision by Ireland’s CRH to buy Ash Grove Cement in September 2017 may remove the largest domestically-owned producer from US hands but it shows confidence in the market and heralds the continued creeping growth of the building materials company into an international empire.
South America shows promise… just don’t mention Brazil
Countries like Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela may not be performing to expectations but other countries south of the Darian Gap, have been growing their respective cement industries. The leader here is Argentina that is riding a full-scale construction boom with capital investment chasing it from the producers. Bolivia is following a decade of growth although this may be starting to slow somewhat. Chile appears to be realigning itself to take in more exports. And finally, Brazil may also be starting to return to growth too. Although cement sales were continuing to fall year-on-year in the first nine months of 2017 the rate has been slowing. Local producer Votorantim also reported improved market conditions at home.
India stares into the demand gap
UltraTech Cement finally managed to buy six cement plants and five grinding plants from Jaiprakash Associates for US$2.5bn in 2017. The acquisition marked the end of the long-running deal between the companies and what may be a new phase in further integration in the Indian industry. In September 2017 the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) complained that the sector had 100Mt/yr of excess production capacity out of a total 425Mt/yr. The government’s demonetisation policy sank cement production growth in late 2016 and production has struggled to improve since then. Some estimates expect growth to return in around 2020 as the demand gap shrivels. Further merger and acquisition activity can only help until then, although the current government flip-flopping over a petcoke ban and import duties may get in the way.
China restructures with an eye on overseas market
As discussed last week the mind-bogglingly massive merger between China National Building Material (CNBM) and China National Materials (Sinoma) is proceeding with the press equivalent of radio silence. If one trusts the company figures then the largest cement producer in the world will get even bigger following completion. Once the big Chinese producers start building lots of overseas plants then the implications of combining a major producer with a major plant builder may become clear outside of China. Alongside this the buzzword on the Chinese cement company balance sheets this year have been a major rollout of co-processing at plants and a policy of ‘peak shifting’ or simply shutting off production at selected plants in the winter months. Somehow despite all of this the official figures suggest that cement production is still growing in China.
The African mega deal that wasn’t
The prospective bidding war for South Africa’s PPC has turned out to be a bust. A low offer was made in September 2017 by a Canadian investment firm with the aim of merging PPC with local rival AfriSam. Vague expressions of interest from the usual suspects followed over the following months before everything fizzled out. What the dickens was going on? A difference of opinion between the board and shareholders? A poor market in South Africa giving everyone the jitters? If any readers know, please get in touch. PPC’s poor showing at home mirrors Dangote Cement’s travails. Both companies have suffered domestically whilst going full tilt elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Indonesia about to pick up?
And finally, a report from Fitch Ratings this week suggests that growth in Indonesia is set to pick up once again. The market dragged down HeidelbergCement’s mid-year financial results as cement consumption dropped in the same period. Like India, Indonesia faces a consumption-capacity mismatch. However, with annual consumption poised to grow at over 6%, the time to close that gap will narrow. Some good news to end the year with.
Global Cement Weekly will return on 3 January 2018. In the meantime Merry Christmas and a have Happy New Year!
Semen Indonesia grows cement sales volumes as profits suffer
11 December 2017Indonesia: Semen Indonesia’s cement sales volumes rose by 8.1% year-on-year to 25.8Mt in the first 10 months of 2017. However, despite this the company’s profit declined due to falling prices, according to the Antara news agency. In addition production costs have risen due to higher electricity and coal prices.
Semen Indonesia suspends construction of Aceh plant
18 October 2017Indonesia: Semen Indonesia Aceh has suspended construction of its Pidie cement plant in Aceh due to a land dispute. Local community leaders say they support the project but are calling for the disagreement to be resolved first to avoid problems later on, according to the Antara news agency. Locals are also waiting for environmental impact report requirements to be met. Previously, Semen Indonesia Aceh halted a plant construction project in Laweung until land issues were resolved.
Siam Cement Group signs US coal import deal
05 October 2017Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has signed a deal to import 155,000t of coal from the US for its cement plants in Thailand and elsewhere in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Kalin Sarasin, a senior SCG executive and chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, made the announcement following an official visit to the US by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, according to the Nation newspaper.
SCG will buy 100,000t of US coal in the first contract and a second contract will be for 55,000t to test the quality. Subsequently, the cement producer may buy more coal. At present, SCG imports around 6Mt/yr coal from Indonesia and Australia. The US coal will be used to substitute some of the Indonesian supply, which has been imported due to a higher demand for coal for power stations.
Hendi Prio Santoso appointed as president director of Semen Indonesia
27 September 2017Indonesia: Hendi Prio Santoso has been appointed as the president director of Semen Indonesia following his approval at a shareholders meeting. He succeeds Rizkan Chandra, who died in July 2017. Santoso is the former president director of state-owned gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN).
Krakatau Semen Indonesia launches slag-grinding plant
04 September 2017Indonesia: Krakatau Semen Indonesia (KSI), a joint venture between Krakatau Steel and Semen Indonesia, has launched a slag grinding plant in Cilegon, Banten. The 0.69Mt/yr ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) plant had an investment of US$31m, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper. Construction at the site started in 2014. Both the companies running the venture are state owned and they own an equal share each in the plant.
Indonesia: Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Rini Soemarno has launched an affordable cement programme for Papua province targeted at its mountainous regions. The scheme is being run with five state-owned companies: Semen Indonesia, Pelni, Pelindo IV, Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia and Pos Indonesia. The scheme has been introduced due to poor transport links to and within the province in conjunction with improvements to road and port infrastructure, according to the Antara news agency. Cement under the scheme is imported by Semen Indonesia to the port at Timika before being distributed by road and aeroplane.