Displaying items by tag: Clinker
Tax authorities probe Wan Heng Ghana
12 July 2023Ghana: The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have arrested managers of Wan Heng Ghana. The Business and Financial Times newspaper has reported that the cement producer is suspected of neglecting to pay US$43.1m in tax. An investigation showed that the company received sufficient imported clinker to produce US$120m-worth of cement between 2018 and 2021, yet declared only US$19.6m-worth of sales. Management then reportedly refused to cooperate with further investigations, leading to the arrests. Wan Heng Ghana produces Sol brand cement.
The Chamber of Cement Manufacturers Ghana (COCMAG) affirmed its commitment to ensuring fair competition and ethical practices within the cement industry. It represents cement producers in the country, including Wan Heng Ghana.
Cementos Inka commissions Pisco grinding plant
10 July 2023Peru: Cementos Inka has announced the successful commissioning of its new 800,000t/yr Pisco grinding plant. The new plant is equipped with Christian Pfeiffer grinding and separation equipment. El Comercio News has reported that the producer invested US$55m in the plant. This exceeded previous budgets by 15 - 22%, due to coronavirus-related costs rises. This latest commissioning triples Cementos Inka's installed capacity to 1.2Mt/yr. General manager Carlos Choy estimated that the producer's market share has risen to 10% from 3.9%.
Choy said that the producer's next project will be the construction of a 1 - 1.5Mt/yr kiln line to produce clinker at the site.
US: Heidelberg Materials North America inaugurated its 2.4Mt/yr Mitchell cement plant in Indiana on 14 July 2023. The plant is equipped with a 3600 bag/hr rotary packer, and also boasts a 154,000t-capacity clinker storage dome. It will produce Heidelberg Materials North America's EcoCem Portland limestone cement (PLC), alongside other products. The producer said that the new plant will help to address US cement supply chain constraints amid a planned US$110bn infrastructure overhaul.
Heidelberg Materials North America president and chief executive officer Chris Ward said "The plant will reduce CO2 emissions per tonne of clinker by almost 30%, mainly through operating on natural gas. Our investment in the Mitchell facility helps us lower our carbon footprint, while serving the growing demand for more sustainable products in this key market.”
Kenya: Parliament's Finance and National Planning Committee has rejected a petition from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) for the removal of the 10% customs duty on imports of clinker. Business Daily News has reported that KAM member Rai Cement said that the duty will force cement plants to shut due to high costs. The committee, however, concluded that the levy aims to encourage local manufacturing, promote exports and create jobs for Kenyans.
National Cement, which operates the 1.95Mt/yr Kajiado cement plant in Merrueshi-Mbirikani, opposed the KAM line by submitting its own petition for an increase in the clinker import duty to 25%.
Cemento Polpaico to invest US$67m in growth
15 June 2023Chile: Cemento Polpaico plans to invest US$67m in expanding its operations, with a focus on its Cerro Blanco cement plant in Santiago. Work will include the construction of a solar power plant and the expansion of the plant's limestone quarry. Meanwhile, Cemento Polpaico will upgrade the plant's kiln to increase its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate to 75% from 13%. The upgrade will increase the production line's clinker capacity by 13% and reduce its CO2 emissions by 20,000t/yr. Additionally, the producer will build a new 3000t cement silo.
Update on Bangladesh, June 2023
14 June 2023Cement producers in Bangladesh received a surprise at the start of June 2023 when the government budget proposed increasing the duty on imported clinker. The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA) reacted this week by calling for the duty on clinker to be reduced, while also calling for the same for a non-adjustable advance income tax (AIT) applied to associated imports and sales.
During a press conference, reported upon by the Financial Express newspaper and other media, BCMA president Alamgir Kabir said that the customs duty on key raw materials for the sector had previously been around 5% of the import value. However, he argued that the new suggested increased tariff was “disproportionate” because it placed the burden at 12 - 13%. He urged the government to treat the cement sector as a "priority sector" given that it was facing higher prices generally due to the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy shocks from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and negative currency exchange effects.
The BCMA’s latest lobbying call may sound familiar because it follows a similar battle against import charges from late 2022. A supplementary duty was introduced in November 2022 when the National Board of Revenue (NBR) changed the way limestone was coded in response to a significant increase in imports from 2020. At the time, the price of limestone imports reportedly nearly doubled. The BCMA may have won this battle because in March 2023 the NBR withdrew its supplementary duty. It did require that importers submit to further scrutiny including an updated Import Registration Certificate and various tax related requirements.
The timing of the NBR’s decision to relax the limestone duty is telling given that the previous month or so six of the country’s seven publicly listed cement producers reported either falling profits or losses for the second half of 2022 or the year as a whole. Only LafargeHolcim Bangladesh bucked the trend with an increase year-on-year in its annual profit after tax in 2022, although it attributed this to 95% volume growth in its aggregates business.
As discussed previously a characteristic of the cement sector in Bangladesh is that the country has no domestic limestone reserves. It all has to be imported. Arusha Ahmed Khan, Shun Shing Group presented a summary of the national industry at the Global Slag Conference that took place in early June 2023 in Düsseldorf. The country has two integrated cement plants and 36 grinding mills operated by 31 companies with a total capacity of 84Mt/yr. At present around 14Mt/yr of new cement grinding production capacity is planned by UK Bangla Cement, MI Cement, Confidence Cement and Dubai Bangla with commissioning dates expected from mid-2023 to mid-2025. Khan revealed that the government switched from British to European standards in the early 2000s leading to a high level (95%) of blended cements on the market. Use of slag cements has grown as more producers commission vertical roller mills and more uptake of slag and other blended cements using secondary cementitious materials (SCM) is expected in the future.
A key vulnerability for a grinding-heavy cement sector, like the one in Bangladesh, is any burden on imports such as logistic costs, currency exchange effects and government tariffs. Sure enough each of these examples has been reported locally. The government says that its proposed higher import tariff on clinker is the first such change in a decade. Cement producers have reacted, predictably, in a negative manner. Whether the authorities go ahead with the planned increase and how well the cement sector could absorb it remains to be seen. There may never be a good time for a tax rise but the BCMA has been able to present the current period as being especially bad.
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Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA) has called for a 60% cut to duties on clinker imports, to US$1.84/t from US$4.61/t. The Financial Express newspaper has reported that BCMA members are struggling with high shipping costs and supply issues due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Bangladesh government published plans to raise the duty on imports of clinker by 40% to US$6.46/t in its 2023 budget on 13 June 2023.
Cheonnaeri Cement upgrades Cheonae cement plant
12 June 2023North Korea: State-owned Cheonnaeri Cement has completed a successful upgrade to its 1Mt/yr Cheonae cement plant in South Hamgyong Province. Korean News has reported that the upgrade involved the replacement of the plant's clinker cooler, burners and clinker and raw materials handling systems. A new bucket conveyor has more than doubled raw materials handling capacity.
Cheonnaeri Cement reportedly plans to further expand the capacity of the plant.
Shiva Cement commissions Sundergarh cement plant
01 June 2023India: Shiva Cement has commissioned its new US$185m Sundergarh cement plant in Odisha. Pragativadi News has reported that the new plant has an integrated capacity of 1.05Mt/yr and an additional grinding capacity of 0.27Mt/yr.
In October 2022, parent company JSW Cement announced plans to increase its total installed capacity by 47% to 25Mt/yr.
Peru: Invercem has successfully commissioned its new 220,000t/yr Pisco grinding plant in Ica Department. Management News has reported that the plant cost US$30m to build. Cemex Peru will supply clinker for use in cement production at the plant. Invercem plans to supply cement produced at the plant to the Cusco market under the Patrón brand. The company says that the facility has the potential to further expand up to a capacity of 330,000t/yr. In the longer term, Invercem aims to establish an integrated cement plant and limestone mine.