01 September 2015
Ugandan president heckled over Indian workers at Tororo Cement 01 September 2015
Uganda: President Yoweri Museveni has been heckled at a road commissioning ceremony by residents of Tororo alleging that Tororo Cement (TCL) is employing more Indian nationals than local citizens. The cement producer denied any wrongdoing, stating that 'barely' 5% of its staff are Asian, according to local media. The president has promised to look into the matter.
"Out of 1000 employes we have, only 50 are Indians. The rest are Ugandans," said TCL chief executive officer Mohan Gagrani.
TCL has also faced claims that its trucks are damaging Uganada's new road networks through overloading. It has denied any responsibility due to its use of contracted vehicles.
Kyrgyzstan: Chinese cement producer Jinlong Group intends to invest US$65m towards building a 0.8Mt/yr single line cement plant in Issyk Kul province. It will operate as a subsidiary called Yatai Cement. US$15m will come from self-financing. The reminding US$50m will be funded through project financing. Approximately 400 workers will be hired to work at the new firm, which has a 30-year operation term, according to China Ciments.
Cement sales fall by 7.04% in first seven months of 2015 in Ecuador 01 September 2015
Ecuador: Cement sales fell by 7.04% to 3.38Mt between January and July 2015 compared to 3.64Mt in the same period in 2014, according to data from the Ecuadorian Institute of Cement and Concrete (INECYC). Sales are expected to drop between 10% and 15% in 2015 compared to 2014 when sales of 6.47Mt were recorded.
Consumption is high in Guayas, Azuay, Manabí and Pichincha, according to El Telegrafo. Holcim holds 60.5% of the local market, followed by Unacem (formerly Lafarge) with 22.5% and Union Cementera Nacional (UCEM) with 17%. Recent developments include a US$400m modernisation project at Holcim's Guayaquil plant and a US$230m expansion by Cementera Nacional with Cementos Yura to expand the Riobamba plant.
Sinai Cement reports loss in first half of 2015 01 September 2015
Egypt: The Sinai Cement Company (SCC) has reported a US$3.6m net loss in the first half of 2015 compared to a profit of US$11.2m in the same period in 2014. Overall profits declined to US$4.2m from US$23m. On a quarterly basis, the firm lost US$1.3m in the first quarter of the year compared to a net profit of US$4.5m in the same period in 2014. The company operates a cement production facility in North Sinai.
Lucky Cement fights South African anti-dumping duty 01 September 2015
South Africa: Lucky Cement has filed papers in the High Court in Pretoria contesting a 14.29% provisional antidumping duty imposed in May 2015 on its cement exports to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The Pakistan-based cement producer has accused the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) of failing to consider the losses suffered by producers due to a Competition Commission ruling on a cement cartel, according to Business Day. ITAC intends to oppose the motion.
ITAC imposed provisional anti-dumping duties of 14.3 – 77.2% on Portland Cement originating in or imported from Pakistan from 15 May 2015 for six months. The duty was imposed on bagged cement.
"The breaking up of anticompetitive behaviour must have resulted in more normal competition in the industry with resulting lower prices and tighter margins," said Lucky Cement chief financial officer Muhammad Faisal. "It was illogical and irrational for ITAC to attribute 100% of the injury to the SACU cement industry to Pakistani exports."
Faisal also objected to ITAC's decision to retrospectively limit its inquiry to only bagged cement. The dumping margin placed on Lucky Cement was based on all its cement sales whereas ITAC focused only on bagged cement in SACU.
The Competition Commission imposed a fine of US$9.3m on Afrisam and US$11.1m on Lafarge in 2011 and 2012 respectively, after concluding that a cement cartel did exist. It estimated its intervention would save consumers US$335 – 454m for the period 2010 to 2013.
UltraTech deal with Jaypee delayed by mine transfer legislation 01 September 2015
India: UltraTech Cement is seeking clarification from the Indian government over the transfer of limestone reserves as part of its deal to buy two integrated cement plants in Madhya Pradesh from Jaypee Group, according to HT Media. A clause in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 2015 barring the transfer of mines that were not allotted through auctions is delaying mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the mining sector.
According to a clause in the new Act, transfer of the mining licence is allowed only for mines that have been auctioned. Most of the operational limestone mines in India were allotted and not auctioned. The Act allows for these reserves to be auctioned in the future. However, legal experts are divided on whether this clause will apply retrospectively.
UltraTech agreed to buy Jaiprakash Associates' cement plant with a clinker capacity of 2.1Mt/yr and a cement grinding capacity of 2.6Mt/yr at Bela in Madhya Pradesh in December 2014. It then agreed to buy a second plant at Sidhi with a clinker capacity of 3.1Mt/yr and a cement grinding capacity of 2.3Mt/yr. The deal included access to the limestone reserves in Madhya Pradesh.
The new legislation is also expected to affect Lafarge's sale of its east Indian assets to Birla Corp.