Displaying items by tag: GCW128
Dangote and PPC about to go head-to-head in South Africa
27 November 2013Both Dangote Cement and PPC have reminded the world about their development plans for sub-Saharan Africa. In the wake of PPC's yearly results on 19 November 2013 came a spotlight on the South Africa-based cement producer's international ambitions. Not to be outdone, Nigeria's Dangote Cement then put out a press release detailing all of its big development projects.
Dangote and PPC are set to go into direct competition when the Dangote subsidiary, Sephakhu Cement, opens its 3Mt/yr integrated cement plant at Aganang, North West province in early 2014. It will be the first time the Nigerian cement giant will be producing cement in the same country as its competitor in sub-Saharan Africa, PPC. The encounter will set the tone for the producers' next clash when they both open cement plants in Ethiopia in 2015.
Both the African cement producers are targeting a swathe of south to east sub-Saharan Africa from South African to Ethiopia. PPC, based in South Africa, has a presence in neighbouring Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It has bought stakes in cement producers in Rwanda, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has new cement plants on the way in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In contrast to PPC's more 'organic' growth strategy from an established base, Dangote, with its existing presence in west Africa is about to enter this region. It has new projects planned in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as in Ethiopia and South Africa.
To compare the financing behind each company's expansion, Dangote reported that it had committed US$884m for acquisitions in 2012. PPC intends to spend US$276m on capital expenditure in its 2014 financial year. If these figures from financial reports are correct, Dangote is spending three times as much as PPC on expansion. Dangote may have more money for expansion but PPC has long-standing presences in the region or has recently acquired them.
Dangote reported an 18% rise year-on-year in turnover to US$1.8bn in 2012. The same year its sales volumes increased to 10.4Mt from 8.66Mt in 2012. The company's installed cement production capacity was reported as 19.25Mt from three plants in Nigeria. In comparison, PPC reported a 13% rise in revenue to US$820m for its financial year to the end of September 2013. No exact cement productions figures were released but PPC said that cement sales increased by 7% in the period.
How Dangote and PPC spar in South Africa remains to be seen but one area where they may agree will be on imports. In its final results for 2013, PPC again highlighted the continuing threat of imports from Pakistan, mainly via Durban. Imports comprised 7.6% of national demand as of June 2013. In Nigeria in 2012 Dangote led successfully a campaign to cut foreign imports. Irrespective of increasing demand for cement, adding Dangote to the anti-cement import lobby in South Africa might well make space for a new producer.
Shree Cement director resigns
25 November 2013India: Shree Cement Ltd announced on 25 November 2013 that Shri Mahendra Singhi, Executive Director of the Company, had resigned with effect from 6 December 2013. No further details were made provided.
Gangotri Cement appoints Rajendra K Shah as Independent Director
27 November 2013India: Gangotri Cement has appointed Rajendra K Shah as an additional Independent Director with effect from 25 November 2013. Shah has also been appointed as a member of the Audit Committee and Shareholders' Grievances Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company. Gangotri Cement said that Ravi Kamra had resigned as a Director due to personal and professional commitments.
Guangdong carbon market to launch in December 2013
27 November 2013China: Guangdong Province plans to launch carbon emission trading in December 2013. It will be the world's biggest carbon trading scheme after the European Union.
Guangdong has started allotting 388Mt of carbon emission quotas to selected enterprises, according to the provincial development and reform commission. Initially 242 companies from cement, power, iron and steel and petrochemical industries have been included in the quota allocation. The scheme will cap CO2 emissions at 350Mt for 2013.
Quotas equivalent to 29Mt of carbon emissions will be auctioned and the base price will be US$9.8/t. The rest of the quotas will be allotted to companies for free.
Shenzhen City started its carbon trading market in June 2013 and Shanghai launched its market on 26 November 2013. The National Development and Reform Commission has also approved pilot carbon emission trading schemes in Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Hubei. China has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 – 45% per unit of GDP by 2020.
Construction activity slows in Uganda in third quarter of 2013
27 November 2013Uganda: A slowdown in the construction sector and increased competition from imports has seen the price of cement fall by 13% in the third quarter of 2013 in Uganda, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Construction Sector Indices report.
Cement production in the country has increased following the entry of new producers including Moroto Cement, whose production capacity is estimated at 3000t/day. Hima and Tororo Cement factories have also increased cement production capacities. Cement supply in the country is currently estimated at 137,000t, up from 115,000t in 2012. As cement production increases prices are also expected to continue trending downwards.
East Africa Cement Producers Association opposes power tariff rise
27 November 2013Tanzania: The East Africa Cement Producers Association (EACPA) has opposed a proposal by Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) to increase power tariffs by 68%, citing the risk of 'significant' rises in cement production costs.
The association also claimed that its members are already penalised by the costs related to power rationing, adding that cement producers recorded 1782 power rationing cases between 2012 and 2013.
"We strongly oppose any increase on the power supply tariff by Tanesco and request an urgent solution for the deficient service provided. Should the proposal be accepted, it would have a direct impact on the Tanzanian cement industry production costs up to US$0.71/bag. This amount will be 100% charged directly to the final consumer thus negatively affecting infrastructure and the economic development of Tanzania," said EACPA Tanzania chairperson Catherine Langreney in a statement.
Langreney, who is also the chief exexutive officer of Mbeya Cement, added that Tanzania's cement industry was also set to be further penalised with cheap imported cement since cement imports would not be affected directly by the increased production costs.
Cemex says it complies with tax laws in Spain
27 November 2013Spain: Cemex has said that it 'complies scrupulously with all legal and tax obligations in Spain,' in response to reports in the Spanish media about its tax affairs in the country. The company 'does not have any debts outstanding or face any penalties from the Spanish tax service as of this time,' said Cemex. The Mexico-based cement producer has reserved the right to take legal action against anyone publishing inaccurate reports about the company.
Cemex issued the statement following reports in the Spanish media about the firing of a tax inspector for rejecting its appeal of a large penalty. The dismissal led to the resignation of the head of the department overseeing large taxpayers. Subsequently, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria denied that Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro had any relationship with Cemex's tax advisers before taking up his Cabinet post.
FLSmidth to cut 130 more jobs
27 November 2013Denmark: FLSmidth will cut a further 130 jobs in Denmark in addition to the 1100 job-cut announced in August 2013, according to Reuters. The cement plant manufacturer said the redundancies were caused by the development in the market for cement factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. A spokesman for FLSmidth declined to comment on whether the company is planning to cut more jobs outside of Denmark.
Loesche installs dry-processing plant for stainless steel slag
27 November 2013Belgium: Loesche has developed a dry refining process for stainless steel slag (EDS), with CALA Aufbereitungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, to obtain a high-purity metallic portion and a valuable, metal and mineral-free filler material at the same time. Belgian company RECOVAL assigned Loesche with the engineering and delivery of a turnkey processing plant primarily for stainless steel slag.
In the recovery process, and purely by the addition of CO2 to the EDS, finished components with structural properties like those of concrete are produced without the use of conventional cement. A Loesche Vertical Mill type LM 15.2M will be at the centre of a newly-built processing plant for the manufacture of such components in the district of Charleroi, Belgium. Around 20t/hr of stainless steel slag will be processed in this specially designed mill.
Nigeria: Dangote Cement intends to reach a total cement production capacity of 50Mt/yr by 2016 which will make it Africa's largest cement producer. The company's chief executive, DVG Edwin, summarised production projects by the Nigeria-based cement producer: "Our plant in Senegal will soon be producing cement and our South African venture, Sephaku Cement, is well on track to open in early 2014. These two plants will be our first production ventures outside Nigeria as we aim to become Africa's leading supplier of cement," said Edwin.
Edwin revealed that construction work is underway at Mugher, Ethiopia for a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant. Operation is scheduled to begin in October 2015 at a 3Mt/yr gas-fired plant in Mtwara, Tanzania. Cement production is expected to start in mid-2014 at a 1.5Mt/yr in Ndola, Zambia. In Cameroon a 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant will be completed in the first half of 2014 and an integrated 1.5Mt/yr cement plant is expected to begin production in the second quarter of 2016. A 1.5Mt/yr cement plant in South Sudan and a 1.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Kenya are both set to become operational in 2016.
Along the coast of West Africa Dangote nears completion of import facilities to receive and bag bulk cement produced in Nigeria and Senegal. Additional import facilities in Sierra Leone are due to begin by the end of 2013 or early 2014.
In Liberia Edwin said that the order for equipment has been made for an import facility in Freeport Monrovia. Imports into Liberia are expected to commence in early 2015. The company plans to build a 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with operations projected to begin in early 2015. In Ghana, the company plans to open 1.5Mt/yr grinding plants in Tema and Takoradi by early 2015. Finally, Dangote cement has recently announced its intention to build an integrated 1.5Mt/yr plant in Niger.