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Philippines: Philippine construction activity growth, which slowed to 4.4% in the first quarter of the 2016 fiscal year compared with an average 5% growth in the previous three quarters, appears to have picked up in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, which ended on 30 June 2015, as indicated by Holcim Philippines' sales over the period and reported by Dow Jones.

In the second quarter of its 2016 financial year, Holcim Philippines' net sales rose by 9.7% year-on-year to US$212m, aided by higher sales volumes and prices. Holcim president Eduardo Sahagun said that the company was improving plant efficiency and upgrading it to run longer to cover strong demand. He said that cement prices don't appear to be as big a concern as supply. "We understand that contractors are most concerned with steady cement supply and this is what we are trying to address in the second half," said Sahagun.

Indonesia: Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa plans to discontinue production at its P1, P2, and P6 cement plants in Citeureup, West Java to improve efficiency and maintain margin stability amid weak demand in the cement industry.

"We seek to stabilise margins in 2015 by shutting down plants that are not efficient, including plants P1, P2 and P6 in Citeureup," said Christian Kartawijaya, president director of Indocement. He said that operations in plants P1, P2, and P6 were no longer efficient and that they were usually only used as backup when another plant was on maintenance. The lost production from the closure of the three plants will soon be replaced by production from the new 4.4Mt/yr capacity P14 plant, which is due for completion by the end of 2015.

Indocement also plans to reduce fixed costs and to postpone some of its non-urgent projects and expansions, including cutting down 2015's capital expenditure to maintain its performance. "We plan to decrease our 2015 capital expenditure to US$258m, as demand for cement has not risen amid a cement supply hike. Therefore, we will try to postpone our investments," said Kartawijaya. He added that the purchase of stone reserves and the investment in a new cement plant in Pati, Central Java will be postponed.

Indocement's revenues for the first six months of 2015 dropped by 6.6% year-on-year to US$654m due to an 8.8% decline of domestic sales to 8.2Mt. Its market share also shrank to 29.1% from 30.5% in 2014 due to weak domestic consumption, tight competition and oversupply in the national market. The decline in revenue and sales volume also resulted in 4.7% lower earnings (US$226m) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and an 8.4% lower net profit at US$169m for the first half of 2015.

India: Mangalam Cement Limited has announced that Anil Kumar Mandot has resigned from the post of CFO. The board of directors has appointed Yaswant Mishra as CFO with effect from 7 August 2015. This is in addition to his present designation of president (corporate).

Brazil: Based on Brazil's 2015 GDP forecast, cement production and civil construction in Brazil are expected to remain flat in 2015 for the first time in more than a decade.

GDP rose by 7.53% in 2010, but growth dropped in the following four years to 2.73%, 1.03%, 2.49% and 0.1%, according to BNamericas data. The amount of cement produced has followed the same trend. While in 2010 production was up by 14.2%, it rose by 7.55%, 8.19%, 2% and only 1.5% in the following four years, ending 2014 at 71.2Mt. Finally, civil construction revenue jumped by 33.5% in 2010, but the industry posted increases of 12.6%, 12.9%, 7.60% and 8.48% over the next four years. The last drop in Brazil's civil construction industry occurred in 2002. As GDP estimates are pointing toward a 1.7% contraction for 2015, cement production and civil construction are unlikely to grow in 2015 if they continue to follow Brazil's overall economy.

Zimbabwe: PPC is on track to commission its second cement plant in Zimbabwe in the second half of 2016. It is building its new 700,000t/yr plant at Msasa near Harare at a cost of US$80m. The plant is being built by China's Sinoma International Engineering.

PPC aims to generate 40% of its total revenue from outside South Africa by 2017, compared with about 28% now. Including its second Zimbabwe plant, PPC has four cement manufacturing plant projects in Africa. The other projects are in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.

Njombo Lekula, the managing director of PPC, said that the investment PPC was making in the Msasa plant was a vote of confidence in Zimbabwe's future and an expression of its commitment to build, grow and contribute meaningfully to the national economy while delivering on local imperative. "PPC Zimbabwe is looking to the future of the country, with today's event providing a promise of things to come. While our existing plant in Bulawayo has positioned us well in Matabeleland, it's clear that much of our country's future growth centres around Harare and northern Zimbabwe," said Lekula.

PPC is engaging with numerous local suppliers to leverage the scope of opportunities on this project beyond the main engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) agreement. "Because almost 70% of the total value of the EPCM is allocated to the supply of actual plant equipment, it was necessary for us to contract with a provider of the likes of Sinoma to ensure we create a world class plant in and for the region. Sinoma has contracted local labour as part of its workforce on the project, as well as meeting our non negotiable local supply requirements," said Lekula. He added that local contractors, including JR Goddard Construction, Ascon-Tencraft and HVC, had already worked on the project.

"As Zimbabwe's largest producer of ordinary Portland cement and the only producer of 42.5 cement, we are ideally positioned to play a leading role in developing the country's infrastructure. We have the equipment, processes and tanker fleet in place and are thus able to handle the bulk deliveries that are vital to these big projects. As such, we see ourselves as providing not just cement but a total solution to our customers," said Lekula.

Kenya: Kitengela-based quarry operator Karsan Ramji & Sons is stepping up its investments in the cement business with the planned construction of a cement plant in Nakuru, the second such project in the past 12 months.

Karsan Ramji & Sons has sought regulatory approval to set up a 700t/day (224,000t/yr) cement plant in Engashura, some 7km from Nakuru. The company recently completed the construction of a similar-sized cement plant in Athi River and in June 2015 began selling cement under the brand name Ndovu.

"If we secure regulatory approvals in time, construction will begin in December 2015 and the plant will begin operating by November 2016," said Kishor Varsani, Karsan Ramji & Sons' managing director. The plant will use imported clinker while pozzolana and gypsum will be sourced locally from its quarries.

Also in Kenya, Nigeria's Dangote Cement plans to build a US$395m cement plant in Kitui, while India's Sanghi Group plans to construct a US$119m cement plant in West Pokot. Kenya's 2014 cement production grew by 16.4% year-on-year to 5.88Mt, up from 5.05Mt in 2013 as a result of new players entering the industry. Cement production in the country has consistently outpaced consumption, which stood at 4.26Mt and 5.19Mt in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

"Everybody knows that there is currently an oversupply of cement in the Kenyan market," said Varsani. "However, our decision to diversify our business into this sector is based on the belief that demand for cement will soon outpace supply. This is in line with the expected growth of the economy and construction industry."

Karsan Ramji & Sons' maiden Athi River plant is located about 500m from the plants of its two rivals, Mombasa Cement and Bamburi Cement. Other competitors in the neighbourhood include ARM Cement and East Africa Portland Cement. The plant, which recently started operations was initially to be built in Kitengela, but residents opposed the project citing health and environmental concerns, forcing the investor to relocate the venture to Athi River.

India: Cement plant workers will see a 33% rise in wages following the conclusion of the Cement Manufacturers' Association's (CMA) wage accord. The decision applies to cement plant workers at 85 cement plants owned by 20 cement companies, according to The Times of India.

The settlement provides for an increase of US$94/month in gross pay. While a hike of US$47/month will be given with effect from April 2014, an increase of another US$47/month will come into force from September 2016. This translates into a 33% salary increase. The wage arrears for 16 months will be paid in two instalments. The settlement is for a duration of four years, from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2018 and covers around 66% of the total annual cement production capacity in the country, or 189Mt/yr out of 285Mt/yr.

"The current settlement is unique as it is perhaps the only nationwide settlement reached for workers of a major organised industry in the private sector," said N Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director of The India Cements, who spearheaded the negotiations on behalf of the CMA. "Despite the difficult conditions being faced by the industry due to subdued demand and lower capacity utilisation, it has agreed to implement the wage revision in the overall interest of a large number of workers."

UK: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has welcomed the sale of plants by Lafarge Tarmac and Hanson.

In the Competition Commission's (CC) market investigation published in January 2014, the CC had ordered Lafarge Tarmac to sell one of two cement plants and Hanson to sell one of its ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) plants to enhance competition in the cement and GGBS markets in the UK. Lafarge Tarmac appealed the CC's decision to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. However, in December 2014, the European Commission cleared the merger between Lafarge and Holcim, provided it divest certain assets to a new market entrant. In accordance with those commitments, the Lafarge Tarmac business in the UK, with the exception of the Cauldon cement plant, was sold to CRH and the legal challenges brought by Lafarge Tarmac to the CC have been withdrawn.

In addition, Hanson completed the sale of its GGBS plant in Scunthorpe, as required by the CC's report, to Francis Flower on 31 July 2015. This news means that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has completed the divestment remedies arising from the CC's report.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines Inc plans to expand its market and offer a wider range of construction solutions following its acquisition of Lafarge Republic Inc's Star terminal in Manila and its aggregates business in Rizal. Holcim Philippines president and CEO Eduardo Sahagun said that the purchase is a welcome addition to the company's business.

"These assets further strengthen our ability to provide products and solutions that help our customers and partners in the construction industry," said Sahagun. He said Lafarge's Star terminal would strengthen Holcim Philippines' ability to support customers in Metro Manila and South Luzon, while the acquisition of Lafarge Republic Aggregates Inc, located in Angono, Rizal, would provide the company an established aggregates business. Holcim Philippines closed the deal on 4 August 2015 and paid US$67.5m for the assets.