India: Adani Group has reportedly relocated 'significant roles' in ACC and Ambuja Cements to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. ACC and Ambuja Cements' headquarters are situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and employ 6000 and 4700 people respectively. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that many people in leadership positions now based in Ahmedabad continue to run teams in Mumbai.

Pakistan: Bestway Cement has ignited the kiln of Line 1 of its Mianwali cement plant in Punjab. The line has a capacity of 2.3Mt/yr. The Pakistan Observer newspaper has reported that it increases the producer's cement capacity by 18% to 15.3Mt/yr and brings its total number of production lines to eight. The Mianwali cement plant is equipped with a 20MW solar power plant and will run on 50% renewable energy. It also has a 9MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant, an air cooled condenser (ACC) system and a rainwater harvesting system.

Bestway Cement CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey said "It's a great day for the company. Our new greenfield production line at Mianwali has been set up in a record time, despite various hurdles and supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19."

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia subsidiary Semen Baturaja has obtained four loans worth a total US$59.9m. Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Mandiri, Bank CIMB Niaga and HSBC Indonesia advanced the funds. The loans' syndicated credit agreement aligns with Semen Baturaja's sustainability strategy, which is based on Semen Indonesia's Sustainability Framework.

Semen Baturaja's managing director Daconi Khotob said "This syndicated sustainability-linked loan will provide many benefits for Semen Baturaja, including lower interest rates than conventional loans, more attractive term sheets and the flexibility to make accelerated repayments." Khotob added that the sustainability provisions will also 'broaden the scope of investors.'

Canada: The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) said that it is 'confident that Canada will lead in building clean technologies for a sustainable future' following the publication of the government's Budget 2023 on 29 March 2023. The budget includes US$26bn-worth of green tax credits. US$19.2bn-worth of this is allotted to renewable energy. It also includes a final design for Canada's Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). CAC president and CEO Adam Auer said that, when finalised, the budget will help to 'close the gap' between existing Canadian legislation and incentives offered under the US Inflation Reduction Act and EU Green Deal Industrial Plan.

Auer said “With close to 60% of our emissions resulting from the immutable chemistry of making cement, deep investment in innovative and expensive technologies, like CCUS, are both vital and unavoidable. With Budget 2023, the government clearly affirmed its understanding of the final role this technology plays in our industry’s efforts to reach net-zero." He continued “We were also pleased to see references to carbon contracts for difference (CCfD). Canada’s cement companies, like many industries in Canada, are part of large multinationals, and divisions must compete within their companies for projects. Investing in net-zero projects requires predictability. The certainty that CCfDs can provide is the difference between attracting investment, building projects and creating clean jobs - or conceding the opportunity to our competitors."

Vietnam: The General Statistics Office recorded domestic cement production volumes of 27.4Mt throughout the first quarter of 2023. The figure corresponds to a drop of 9.9% year-on-year from first-quarter 2022 levels. Việt Nam News has reported that the country produced 116Mt of cement in 2022, up by 5.8% year-on-year.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has commenced production of its Fuerte Más reduced-CO₂ cement at its cement plants in Macuspana and Tabasco at a combined rate of 60,000t/yr. The cement offers 50% reduced CO₂ emissions and 10% higher physical performance than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The El Economista newspaper has reported that Holcim Mexico replaces some of the clinker in the cement with locally-sourced minerals from Southeast Mexico. Chemical compounds in the material colour the cement red.

The Centre for Technological Innovation for Construction (CITEC) Toluca verified the product as suitable for all applications. Holcim Mexico's industrial director Adrián Belli said that comparable green cements are currently only available in France and Italy.

China: China National Building Material's (CNBM) revenue fell by 16% year-on-year to US$33.4bn in 2022 from US$40.0bn in 2021. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 31% to US$5.18bn from US$7.50bn. Sales from its cement and concrete business segments fell by 18% to US$16.0bn and 29% to US$5.25bn respectively. Adjusted EBITDA fell by 42% to US$2.89bn and 7% to US$470m. Its sales volumes of cement and clinker decreased by 15% to 316Mt from 373Mt. Sales volumes of concrete decreased by 24% to 84.7Mm³ from 112Mm³.

The group said that, “In 2022, the triple pressure from shrinking demand, supply shock and weakening expectations persisted, and the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the development environment increased.” With regards to the building materials segment it blamed a declining real estate market, a poor economy and general poor demand in both the peak and off seasons. It added, “The downturn in demand has further aggravated the contradiction of overcapacity in the industry, with prices running low, coupled with a sharp rise in the cost of coal and other elements leading to escalating production costs, the production and operation situation was extremely critical.” In response the company is continuing to push for supply-side reform, promote precise staggered peak production, working on stablising the market and seeking out opportunities to supply large-scale infrastructure projects.

China: Anhui Conch’s sales fell by 21% year-on-year to US$19.2bn in 2022 from US$24.4bn in 2021. Its net profit dropped by 52% to US$2.31bn from US$4.84bn. Sales volumes of cement and clinker decreased by 24% to 310Mt. It blamed the situation on weakening market demand and high energy costs.

New projects that started operation in 2022 included a capacity replacement scheme at its Anhui Chizhou Conch Cement subsidiary and two new clinker production lines at the Qarshi project in Uzbekistan. The group also completed its acquisition of Chongqing Duoji Renewable Resources, Naimanqi Hongji Cement and Chifeng Hahe Cement. By the end of 2022 its cement and concrete production capacities rose by 1% to 269Mt and 73% to 25.5Mm³. Its solar power capacity also more than doubled to 475MW.

China: Tangshang Jidong Cement’s operating income fell by 5% year-on-year to US$5.03bn in 2022 from US$5.27bn in 2021. Its net profit dropped by 52% to US198m from US$409m. Its sales volumes of cement decreased by 13% to 87Mt. It reported a cement production utilisation rate of around 49% from its total capacity of 176Mt/yr. The company blamed market overcapacity, a falling real estate market and mounting coal prices for tough trading conditions in the cement sector.

China: China Resources Cement (CRC) turnover fell by 27% year-on-year to US$4.10bn in 2022 from US$5.60bn in 2021. Its profit dropped by 75% to US$247m from US$989m. Its cement and concrete sales volumes decreased by 11% to 72.1Mt and 27% to 10.8Mm³ respectively. During the reporting year the group says it optimised its presence in South China by acquiring majority stakes in Hunan Liangtian Cement and Zhaoqing Jingang Cement, buying a minority stake in Fengqing County Xiqian Cement and by selling a majority stake in Shanxi China Resources Fulong Cement.