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Displaying items by tag: India
India: Wonder Cement has appointment of Jagdish Chandra Toshniwal as Executive Director. Prior to joining Wonder Cement, Toshniwal spent 18 years with Ambuja Cement and was the Business Head of the Northern Region based in Delhi. An engineer by training, Toshniwal has strong operational and commercial skills.
Wonder Cement is planning to double its manufacturing capacity to 6.75Mt/yr by the fourth quarter of 2015. The company has said it will invest US$259m towards this. Wonder Cement is also in the process of increasing its dealer network. The company has significantly increased its brand spend.
The company's 3.25Mt/yr cement plant is located in RK Nagar, Tehsil-Nimbahera, District Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. A waste heat recovery system is currently being installed and the company is planning to build its own railway line and a captive power plant.
Cement sector may play cautiously at coal block auction
03 February 2015India: The government is expecting aggressive bids for all of the 46 coal blocks whose reallocation will start on 14 February 2015, especially for blocks assigned to end-use power generation. However, for the blocks apportioned to the unregulated sector, including the cement, steel and captive power industries, the cement sector is likely to step carefully. Cement companies lost allocations to 12 coal blocks following a Supreme Court order that held all captive coal allocations as illegal.
Imported coal prices fell sharply in 2014, easing the economics of cement production. If prices of imported coal turn volatile however, cement companies face further problems. "We cannot depend solely on imported coal prices staying low and neither can the government assure good quality coal on the open market. We expect to see aggressive bidding for the blocks," said H M Bangur, managing director of Shree Cement.
As per the bid regulations by the ministry of coal, there will be a forward bidding model for the steel and cement sectors. Forward bidding implies aggressive bidding for the coal blocks since the price of these commodities is market-driven. The government has to reallocate 46 operational coal blocks through auction by 31 March 2015.
Indian cement market expected to grow at 9% CAGR in 2014 - 2019
03 February 2015India: According to Research and Markets, the cement market in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.96% in 2014 - 2019. The industry is currently in a turnaround phase, trying to achieve global standards in production, safety and energy-efficiency.
The immense potential offered by the housing sector of the world's second most populous country is expected to drive the cement market. There is also increased governmental support and numerous infrastructure developments ongoing. With supply-side developments in technology, product range and capacity utilisation, the industry is expected to exhibit tremendous growth in the coming years.
The consolidation of the once-fragmented market is a major upcoming trend. Small and medium companies are entering into joint ventures to increase their respective market shares.
UltraTech buys Jaypee’s Madhya Pradesh cement plants
29 January 2015India: Jaiprakash Associates (Jaypee Group) has announced that it will sell two cement plants in Madhya Pradesh State to UltraTech Cement. The assets comprise cement plants and grinding facilities in Bela and Sidhi with a total capacity of 4.9Mt/yr, along with an associated 180MW power plant to supply them.
UltraTech will pay US$740m in non-convertible debentures (loan certificates) and shares worth US$16m for the facilities. It will also assume a net debt and negative working capital of US$128m associated with the businesses. This puts the overall value of the transaction at US$628m.
The sale is part of Jaypee's programme to pay-down debt. It has sold assets worth US$3.6bn in pursuit of this aim. This includes some US$1.6bn of assets in its cement business. However, it said that it remains India's third-largest cement producer, with a capacity of 22Mt/yr.
Jaypee's largest previous cement divestment was also to UltraTech. In 2014, it sold a 2.4Mt/yr cement plant in Kutch and a 2.4Mt/yr grinding plant in Wanakbori, both in Gujarat State, for US$620m. The deal was closed in June 2014. In September 2014, Jaypee announced the US$60m sale of its 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant in Panipat to Shree Cement. It also sold its 74% stake in Bokaro Jaypee Cement Limited, a cement joint venture with the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to Dalmia Cement for US$115m.
India begins coal block allocation process
27 January 2015India: The Coal Ministry has begun the process of allotment of mines to central and state public sector units, starting with the allotment of 36 coal blocks.
The Supreme Court had in September 2014 scrapped all but four of 218 coal blocks allocated by the government over the past two decades, in a tougher-than-expected ruling that sank shares of companies that have invested heavily in projects around the concessions. Most power, steel and cement companies that won blocks have until end-March to return them and the government then plans to auction them off. The previous practice of selective allocation was ruled illegal and arbitrary by the court.
Coal secretary Anil Swarup said that the ministry has started the process of coal allocation. "Today, we are issuing a notification for the allotment of 36 coal blocks. More mines will be added subsequently depending on the requirement. It will depend on the request we receive from state entities or the public sector undertakings in terms of allocation of coal blocks," said Swarup. He added that the ministry would issue guidelines for the coal blocks and those firms that already have coal linkages will have to surrender them. Once the linkages are surrendered then more coal will be made available to state-owned Coal India Limited. Coal India accounts for about 80% of the country's total output. Coal fuels 60% of the country's power production.
"Out of 101 mines, we are looking at 98 mines, as the coal ministry has examined them and it was discovered that there were three blocks in a 'No Go' area. Out of 98 mines, 36 blocks are going for allocation. 42 mines are auctioned, 23 blocks are in schedule II and 23 blocks are in schedule III. The remaining 16 will be auctioned in the future," said Swarup. Around 167 bidders have requested to visit the coal block site.
Coal India plans to engage an external consultant to examine various structures and implementation models to auction the coal linkages. The consultant would examine various structures and implementations models for the auction of coal linkages / LoAs (Letter of Assurances) or other such market-based mechanisms and to recommend the optimal structure that would meet the requirements of all the stakeholders.
JK Lakshmi's US$276m Durg cement plant starts production
22 January 2015India: Built at a cost of more than US$276m, JK Lakshmi Cement's new Durg cement plant in Chhattisgarh has started production.
The plant has an installed capacity of nearly 2.7Mt/yr. Following commissioning, JK Lakshmi Cement's installed cement production capacity stands at 9.3Mt/yr. A part of the US$4bn JK Organisation, the Durg plant will produce various types of cement, including Ordinary Portland cement, Portland pozzolana cement and slag cement.
The Durg project had in 2013 attracted the wrath of the local inhabitants, who set fire to part of the under-construction plant. They were reportedly angered by the reluctance of JK Lakshmi Cement to give jobs to people affected by the project. This caused serious damages at the construction site.
Lafarge India to buy back 14% stake from Barings Asia
22 January 2015India: Lafarge India has begun the process of buying back the 14% stake it sold to global private equity investor Barings Asia in May 2013 for US$265m. This comes about nine months after Lafarge and Switzerland's Holcim announced their intention to merge their global assets, including those in India.
The move is part of the sale agreement that Lafarge signed with Barings Asia, which said that any changes in shareholding structure will trigger the buy-back clause. According to local media, the process has just started and may take a few months. Once the Competition Commission (CC) has cleared the LafargeHolcim merger proposal, the process is expected to gather steam.
India: Cement companies that operate in East Jaintia Hills District, Meghalaya State face a precarious situation due to a ban imposed by National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the extraction and transportation of coal. As coal is a major fuel used by the cement plants in the region, its non-availability threatens to close the plants.
"Coal demand from cement plants is huge and if there is no supply, all the cement companies will have no other option but to shut down their plants," said a representative at one of the cement plants affected by the ban. He lamented that the NGT court had lifted the ban on transportation of the assessed and extracted coal for transportation to Beltola District, Assam State, only. "However, the cement plants in East Jaintia Hills have not received any coal due to the non-availability of a weighbridge in the district," he said. "Approximately 2000 - 2500 trucks are seen transporting coal to Assam every day."
India: Sanghi Industries Limited will invest US$40.5m over next couple of years with a focus on sustainable development, innovation and energy conservation. The company plans to invest US$24.3m to develop a 15MW waste heat recovery system (WHR) and another US$16.2m to further develop its facilities at Navlakhi Port in Gujarat State.
Sanghi Industries has signed a contract for installation of a WHR system at its cement plant in Kutch, Gujarat, whereby 15MW of power will be generated from the waste gases released. With the technology, valuable fossil fuel savings will be made, foreign exchange costs will be saved and there will be a significant reduction in the emission of pollutant gases. Sanghi will recover more than 70% of the waste heat generated from its cement plant.
For the conservation of coastal soil, the company will undertake a mangrove plantation spread over 2km2 on the Gujarat coast. The initiative will protect the ecology of the coast and improve socio-economic development.
"Our focus is on increasing efficiencies at our manufacturing facilities as well as reducing our carbon footprint by cutting down on pollutants that affect the environment," said Alok Sanghi, director of Sanghi Industries. "Also, in line with the Ministry of Shipping agenda to increase transportation through the coastal sea rout, Sanghi has set up a terminal with an investment of US$8m at Navlakhi Port. We will invest an additional US$16m to further develop the terminal at Navlakhi as the sea route reduces our transportation cost considerably."
CCI to decide on LafargeHolcim merger in February 2015
20 January 2015India: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) will soon decide on the proposed merger of Lafarge and Holcim, according to CCI chairman Ashok Chawla on 19 January 2015. "The final order on the case should be out within a month," said Chawla.
The CCI is examining the merger as it raises competition concerns. In a joint filing to CCI, Lafarge and Holcim had said that they would continue to face aggressive competition from Indian cement makers such as UltraTech, Shree Cement and Jaypee at a pan-India level.
The total installed capacity of cement in India is about 350 Mt. Domestic consumption, which stood at 242Mt in 2011 - 2012, was expected to increase to 265Mt in 2012 - 2013.