Displaying items by tag: Federal Antimonopoly Service

Russia: Mikhailovsky Building Material Works (Mikhailovsky KSM), part of Smikom Group, has received conditional approval to acquire Eurocement. Interfax has reported that the Federal Antimonopoly Service made its approval on a number of conditions including the requirement that Mikhailovsky KSM submits to it a quarterly performance report. If prices rise by more than 5% in a month then the company will be required to explain why to the regulator. The producer will also be obliged to fulfil any existing contracts and preserve the technological capability of its production base.

Eurocement currently holds a 35% market share in Central district, the region where Mikhailovsky KSM produces its building materials.

Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has approved Siberian Cement Holding Company (SibCem) to acquire executive body rights in Angarskcement and Iskitimcement. In the case of the transactions, the charter capital structure of Angarskcement and Iskitimcement will not change, the companies will sign management contracts, according to the Kommersant newspaper. Sibcem holds a 49.9% stake in Iskitimcement, via Topkinsky Cement, and a 43.33% stake in Angarskcement.

Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has issued warnings to companies certifying cement products that certification has been mandatory since March 2016. The competition body reported that the decision by Cemiscon and SibNIIcement to refuse some applications for certification without adequate grounds could restrict competition in the cement market. The FAS has since warned the companies that their actions broke the law.

Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has brought together local cement producers to develop exchange trading with cement. Attendees agreed that trading should not be limited to Moscow and St Petersburg and a proposal was made to organise exchange trading supplying goods for export. They agreed to submit proposals to FAS, which will also ask industry experts and buyers for their comments towards shaping exchange trading.

“Exchange trading is an opportunity for new players to enter the market”, said Deputy Head of the FAS Andrey Tsarikovskiy. He added that attracting new companies to the market would lead to increased competition in the sector.

Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has held a meeting to discuss cement pricing and mandatory certification. Representatives of FAS, cement producers, industry associations and government authorities - including the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal Accreditation Service, the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Industry and Trade - took part in the event on 17 May 2016.

Attendees reported that the pricing of bulk cement to industrial customers had increased slightly due to seasonal demand. FAS had received a growing number of complaints about rising prices from purchasers of bagged cement. To counter this, FAS has proposed using points of sale for bagged cement with the intention to remove intermediaries from the supply chain and cut costs.

On mandatory cement certification the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology and the Ministry of Economic Development reported that over 50 cement plants in Russia and several Belarusian cement producers have certified their products. However, some cement importers have experienced difficulties with certification. FAS agreed to coordinate the forwarding of issues importers and other producers have experienced to the supervising body. It will also draft proposals on amendments to the certification. Mandatory cement certification came into force on 7 March 2016 due to No. 930 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Russia: Topkinsky Cement, a part of Siberian Cement, has received the Federal Antimonopoly Service's (FAS) permission to purchase a 24.92% voting stake in Iskitimtsement. Siberian Cement's stake will therefore grow to 49.899%. In February 2013 the FAS blocked Sibirsky Cement from acquiring a 90% stake of Iskitimtsement's voting shares.

Iskitimtsement posted a revenue of Euro85m and a net profit of Euro11m in 2013 compared to a revenue of Euro77m and a net profit of Euro16m in 2012. The cement plant holds 17% of the Siberian Federal District's cement market.

Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has rejected a claim against Pikalyovsky Cement over an application submitted by BaselCement-Pikalyovo. The FAS dismissed the claim because it saw no violations of the law.

BaselCement-Pikalyovo, located in Pikalyovo in the Leningrad region, halted production in 2009 due to a shortage of raw materials. The situation then was settled by the then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin when a supplies treaty was signed.

In January 2013 BaselCement-Pikalyovo applied to the FAS with a claim accusing Pikalyovsky Cement of breaking the antimonopoly law. Allegedly Pikalyovsky Cement had imposed low prices on BaselCement-Pikalyovo for the supply of nepheline slime. BaselCement-Pikalyovo later said that Pikalyovsky Cement revoked its order for nepheline in January 2013 and that this threatened to halt the operations at BaselCement-Pikalyovo since the cement producer is its sole customer.