Displaying items by tag: GCW520
CCI approves sale of JSW Cement stake to holding company
20 August 2021India: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of a 12.55% stake in JSW Cement Ltd by Singapore-based AP Asia Opportunistic Holdings Pte Ltd under the green channel route on 19 August 2021. Green channel is an automatic approval system, whereby a combination is deemed to have been approved by the CCI upon receiving the filing of the notice for the combination by the parties concerned.
The CCI stated that there were no overlaps between the parties to the proposed transaction and therefore it does not raise any risk of an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, according to a notice filed with the regulator.
Cemex joins research consortium
20 August 2021Mexico: Cemex has announced that it will join forces with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEM) to promote Research and Development projects focused on ‘solving the company's current needs to offer more value to its customers, suppliers and stakeholders.’ Cemex has joined the Consortium for Research, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship UNAM - TEC through the signing of a ‘’ memorandum of understanding’ that took place on 19 August 2021.
"Cemex recognises the value and capacity of UNAM and TEM for the development of research,” said Ricardo Naya, President of Cemex Mexico. “We are convinced that by joining the Consortium we are taking an important step towards solving the real and current challenges we face as a company. This alliance will help us accelerate our innovation projects, such as the Future in Action program, with which we seek to achieve carbon neutrality, among many other projects that we hope to promote with both academic institutions.”
Authorities bust fake cement plant in Madhya Pradesh
20 August 2021India: Authorities in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, have closed an unauthorised cement plant in connection with a crackdown on illegal production facilities in the state. The unit, reported to have been in operation for several years, was closed following a tip-off.
The investigating team confiscated more than 500 bags of adulterated cement bearing familiar brand logos, including Ambuja Cement, ACC, Birla and UltraTech Cement. In addition to mixing cement with inert materials, the authorities believe that the unit engaged in the re-sale of cement that had expired and thus could not be guaranteed to reach its designated strength in use.
Fake cement, produced by mixing genuine cement with cheaper inert materials like marble dust and artificial pigments before repacking and selling to an unsuspecting public, presents a major and growing risk to consumers of cement in India.
Romcim seeks purchase of Euroagregate
20 August 2021Romania: The Competition Council (CC) in Romania is analysing the deal involving the purchase of Euroagregate by Romcim, part of Irish building materials producer CRH. Romcim owns two cement plants in Hoghiz and Medgidia, a grinding plant in Targu-Jiu, as well as a network of quarries, cement and ballast terminals, aggregate warehouses, and precast goods production units.
UltraTech to expand on back of strong Indian market
19 August 2021India: UltraTech Cement, has announced plans to invest US$875m on a growth plan to increase its overall cement capacity by 19.8Mt/yr across the 2022 and 2023 financial years. Upon completion of the expansions, the company reports that its capacity would rise to 136.3Mt/yr, ‘reinforcing its position as the third-largest cement company in the world outside of China.’
Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said that the company recorded net revenues of US$6.0bn in the 2021 financial year, adding that the stage was set for rapid growth in the Indian cement sector. Birla said, “The fiscal stance clearly seems to be poised for an acceleration of government capital expenditure in the coming years, especially with the national infrastructure pipeline projects,” Birla said. “The three factors of cyclical upswing, conducive policy impulses and an improving global backdrop is likely to align themselves to position India for a virtuous cycle of growth and investments in the medium-term.”
SPCC revenues fall in second quarter
19 August 2021Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement Company (SPCC) registered revenues of US$76.4m in the second quarter of 2021, a year-on-year fall of 15.3% compared to US$90.2m a year earlier. SPCC’s revenue was impacted by a 10.9% year-on-year fall in cement sales volumes, which came to 1.4Mt/yr for the quarter. SPCC’s gross and operating profits fell by 27.2% and 28.3% respectively year-on-year. The fall in profitability was at the back of lower volume and the resulting fall in operating leverage.
Cement volumes across the whole of Saudi Arabia fell grew by 21.3% year-on-year, while the Southern region saw sales fall by 5.1% year-on-year. Thus, SPCC underperformed relative to its peers by this metric.
Market Analyst Al Rajhi Capital said “Going forward, we expect cement volumes of SPCC to remain under pressure in the third quarter of 2021 on the back of lower construction activity due to uncertainties relating to the new building permit norms and shortage in labour.”
MPA welcomes UK hydrogen strategy but warns of costs
19 August 2021UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has welcomed the government's UK Hydrogen Strategy but warned that the costs of production, transmission and distribution need to be shared by the whole UK economy. The state plan was published in mid-August 2021 and it sets out how progress will be made over the next decade to deliver 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, as part of the UK's drive to achieving its net zero targets. A consultation has also been launched to identify how the current cost gap between low carbon hydrogen and fossil fuels can be overcome.
Richard Leese, Director of Industrial Policy, Energy and Climate Change at the MPA said, "it's now critical that energy intensive industries, including the UK cement sector, which are essential for our economy and way of life, are not unduly penalised by additional policy costs for the production, transmission and distribution of hydrogen on top of already high electricity costs and carbon-related environmental taxes. Hydrogen development costs need to be shared by the wider economy to encourage acceleration of the technology and ensure industrial gas users and hydrogen generated power users are not placed at any further international competitive disadvantage.” Leese added that switching fuels away from fossil fuels, including the potential to adopt hydrogen technology, was already one of seven key levers in MPA UK Concrete's Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero.
The MPA is currently undertaking demonstrations of hydrogen as well as plasma technology, which are being partly funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The projects follow a BEIS-funded feasibility study in 2019 which found that a combination of 70% biomass, 20% hydrogen and 10% plasma energy could be used to eliminate fossil fuel CO₂ emissions from cement manufacturing.
The association has also welcomed the government's announcement of a Euro47m Red Diesel Replacement competition to help develop diesel alternatives as part of the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. However, it renewed its call for a delay in the removal of the red diesel rebate, scheduled for April 2022, and estimated to cost the mineral products sector alone nearly Euro120m/yr.
Nigeria: Lafarge Africa’s revenue grew by 20% year-on-year to US$352m in the first half of 2021 from US$293m in the same period in 2020. Its profit after tax increased by 21% to US$68.8m from US$56.6m.
Switzerland: Holcim Schweiz and Voliro have conducted the first official measurement drone flights at the Siggenthal integrated cement plant. The drone used took measurements to determine the steel wall thicknesses of the cement kiln and the cyclone preheater.
The companies have been testing using aerial drones to conduct inspection and maintenance work as part of Holcim’s ‘Plants of Tomorrow’ initiative. The drones developed by ETH Zürich spin-off company Voliro can be rotated around all axes by a special rotor system and can fly upside down. They are being tested in areas that are difficult for human employees to reach, such as the steel walls and casings of production facilities and silos.
Voliro was founded in 2019 and it is developing a new generation of flying drones for the inspection and maintenance of industrial plants. The drones can be equipped with a variety of sensors that perform visual, thermal and contact-based measurements. The drone's 360° design allows sensors to take measurements even on curved and inclined surfaces. This potentially allows hard-to-reach areas in a cement plant to be assessed without shutting down production. Holcim has been supporting Voliro's product development since 2019 and is providing the technology start-up with the infrastructure in Siggenthal for test flights. The building materials producer has also been supporting the project with its own knowledge about non-destructive testing.
Vietnam: SSI Securities says that the local cement sector faces a ‘huge’ risk due to its over-dependence on export markets, particularly its reliance on China. The securities company reports that cement shipments have risen due to China’s current investment policies on limiting the output of its own cement plants and increasing imports from foreign countries, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. China was the largest buyer of Vietnamese cement from 2017 to 2019. In 2020 China scooped up 57% of Vietnam’s combined cement and clinker exports. This represented 22% of the country’s total sales.
However, SSI Securities has warned that exports to China are unlikely to grow as demand stabilises. It expects a fall of 20 – 25% in the short to medium term as China stops its infrastructure stimulus packages. The brokerage company also noted that the sector’s second biggest export destination, the Philippines, has accused Vietnam of dumping cement.