Displaying items by tag: Government
Kenya/Tanzania: The governments of Kenya and Tanzania are working together to resume exports of cement. A delegation of Tanzanian officials are due to inspect cement plants in Kenya to verify the source of the raw materials used in their manufacture, according to the East African newspaper. This could then lead to exports of cement from Kenya to Tanzania to be re-allowed.
The two countries recently held bilateral trade talks in Arusha on non-tariff barriers. They agreed to speed up the verification missions recommended for confirmation of product origin as provided for in the East African Community rules of origin. Tanzania blocked cement despatches from Kenya in 2018 due to the use of imported clinker.
Senegal to introduce new cement tax
03 May 2019Senegal: The government plans to introduce a new tax on cement to support a house-building campaign. President Macky Sall said that the tariff would increase the cost of bags of cement, according to the Agence de Presse Sénégalaise. He added that the country has the cheapest cement in the region.
Gabon: Cement production rose by 42% year-on-year to 0.49Mt in 2018 from 0.34Mt in 2017. Sales rose at a similar rate to 0.49Mt, according to Infos Gabon. The Ministry of Economy attributed the growth in production and sales to the government’s decision to suspend imports of cement in mid-2017.
Uzbek government to sell stake in Kyzylkumcement
02 May 2019Uzbekistan: President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved a list of companies with state-owned shares to be sold to foreign investors. It includes the country’s 35.9% stake in Kyzylkumcement. Other sectors the government is divesting its shares in include insurance, banking, power generation, oil & gas and soft drinks.
Philippines: Ramon Lopez, the head of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), says that there is no need to impose a price cap on cement yet. However, he said that the government might intervene if the price of cement reached around US$4.6/bag, according to the Philippine Star newspaper. The DTI applied a US$4/t tariff on imported cement in mid-January 2019 for a period of 200 days in response to a surge in imports.
CIMAF Gabon assures government it can meet local demand
30 April 2019Gabon: Ciments de l’Afrique (CIMAF) Gabon has assured the government that it can increases national production to over 1Mt/yr from 0.65Mt/yr at present. Carmen Ndaot, the Minister of Industry, and other government representatives visited the CIMAF’s grinding plant as part of an assessment of a memorandum of understanding signed with the subsidiary of Morocco’s CIMAF, according to the L’Union newspaper. The company plans to spend Euro100m towards building a new plant. It is scheduled to be completed by mid-2021.
Namibia: The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) says it will consult the government about its minority stake in Ohorongo Cement following the purchase of a majority share in the cement producer by Singapore’s International Cement Group. International Cement Group acquired a 69.8% share in Ohorongo Cement from Germany’s Schwenk Namibia in March 2019, according to the Namibian newspaper. The DBN said that it originally invested in Ohorongo Cement to promote economic development in Namibia.
Vietnam: Data from the Building Materials Department of the Ministry of Construction show that cement exports rose by 0.9% year-on-year to 8.55Mt in the first quarter of 2019. They had a value of US$865m, according to data from the Viet Nam News newspaper.
Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association calls for clinker import duties to be reduced
24 April 2019Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA) has asked for import tariffs on clinker to be reduced. In a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) it requested that the duty be cut to either US$2.40/t or a fixed rate of 5%, according to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper. Importers pay around US$6.00/t at present. The BCMA argues that the cement industry is paying more than other industries for its imports.
The association has also called for value added tax (VAT) on raw materials to be cut to 5% from 15%, reducing advance income tax to 2.5% from 5% and exempting regulatory duties for fly ash and import duties for cement bulk carriers.
Ebonyi state government backs Ebocem plant project
23 April 2019Nigeria: David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi state, has approved plans to set-up the Ebonyi Cement plant (Ebocem) at Ogboto in Ishielu. The local government will hold a 10% stake in the project, according to the Nigerian Tribune newspaper.