
Displaying items by tag: Laos
Laos: Oudomxay Jiangge Cement held a ceremony to mark the start of cement sales from its 2Mt/yr Oudomxay cement plant in Namor District on 14 June 2023.
Asia News Network has reported that China-based Guizhou Jiangge Cement acquired outright ownership of Oudomxay Jiangge Cement in mid-2017.
Siam Cement Group to spend US$2bn on CO2 reduction by 2030
15 December 2021Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) plans to spend US$2bn towards meeting its CO2 reduction target by 2030. The industrial group and cement producer intends to reduce its emissions by 20% by the end of the decade, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper. Chief executive officer Roongrote Rangsiyopash, said that the investment will be made from 2022 to 2030 and that it follows the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the Thai government's bio, circular and green (BCG) economic model and environmental, social and governance standards (ESG). After 2030 the group has a net zero goal for 2050.
In cement production the SCG wants to increase its rate of alternative fuels such as biomass and refuse-derived fuel. It also wants to invest in carbon capture utilisation and storage, use electric vehicles and use artificial intelligence systems in energy management. The group plans to reduce coal usage at its cement plants in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia by 50% in 2022. It also plans to use more electricity generated by renewable energy for its factories.
Laos: Workers at the Guestown-Lao cement plant have been paid back wages in a dispute. All 170 employees owed money by the Guestown-Lao company plant in Luang Prabang province’s Nam Bak district have now received US$42,000 from the plant’s new owner, according to Radio Free Asia. Some of the former employees of the plant have also returned to work under the new management.
Provincial authorities detained the Chinese owner of the Guestown-Lao plant in April 2021, accused him of failing to pay wages to his Lao workers in November 2020 and subsequently filed criminal charges against him. He is now awaiting trial on the charges. The company has since been taken over by China-based Jian Qe.
Death from quarry blast at cement plant in Laos
07 October 2019Laos: An explosion at a quarry related to a cement plant near Phonemany village, Nam Bak district in Luang Prabang province has killed one person and injured over 20. The nearby village was affected by the blast causing damage to houses and vehicles, according to Radio Free Asia. A villager alleged that the Chinese-owned plant never warned locals of the blasting schedule and that the explosion was larger than usual. Khammany Inthirath, Minister of Energy and Mines, said that the government had sent a team to investigate what happened.
Price rises push profit boost for Anhui Conch in 2018
22 March 2019China: Anhui Conch’s revenue grew by 70.5% year-on-year to US$19.1bn in 2018 from US$11.2bn in 2017. Its sales volumes of cement rose by 25% to 368Mt. Its net profit increased by 88% to US$4.44bn from US$2.36bn. The cement producer attributed this to ‘significant’ growth in its prices.
During the reporting year the group commissioned four cement grinding units for its Yueqing Conch Cement and Jiande Conch subsidiaries. It also acquired Guangdong Qingyuan Cement, increasing its production capacity of clinker and cement by 2.7Mt and 4Mt respectively.
Outside of China, the group completed and commissioned two clinker production lines and four cement grinding units at Battambang Conch Cement in Cambodia and PT Conch North Sulawesi Cement in Indonesia. Its Luangprabang Conch Cement project in Laos has moved to the equipment installation phase and construction of Myanmar Conch Cement (Mandalay) in Myanmar has begun. Preliminary work has also started for the Vientiane Conch Cement project in Laos and the Qarshi Conch Cement project in Uzbekistan.
At the end of 2018 the group has a clinker and cement production capacities of 252Mt/yr and 353Mt/yr respectively.
Laos: Cement imports rose to a value of US$47.8m in the first 10 months of 2018 compared to US$47.6 for the entirety of 2017. In 2016 the country exported US$0.2m worth of cement, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Vientiane Times newspaper.
The price of cement in the country reportedly fell when the Vientiane Hongshi Xaythirath Factory in Phabong village, Hinheup district opened in 2016. The unit was built using Chinese investment of US$300m and it has a cement production capacity of 5000t/day. The country has 16 cement plants in operation or under construction. It has a total production capacity of 6.76Mt/yr.
Lao government changes import procedure for cement
29 October 2018Laos: The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has ordered regional departments of industry and commerce to stop issuing import licences for cement and steel. Instead, imports of these products will be regulated by customs officials at border crossings, according to the Vientiane Times newspaper. The move is intended to improve the efficiency of business operations in the country as part of an on-going import and export plan to 2020.
Cement exports rise from Laos
22 May 2018Laos: The Ministry of Industry and Commerce says that the value of cement exports rose by 25% to US$19m in the first quarter of 2018 from US$15.2m in the same period of 2017. However, imports fell by 14% to US$16.4m from US$19.1m, according to the Vientiane Times newspaper. Exports have risen as new production capacity has been commissioned in the country.
Laos exported a value of US$0.2m in 2016 but this grew to US$47.6m in 2017. Imports fell to US$68m in 2017 from US$84.3m in 2016. The country has 16 cement plants and other units are being built. At present the country has a capacity of 4.4Mt/yr. This is expected to grow to 6.7Mt/yr once all the current projects are completed. Local infrastructure projects are driving local demand including the several hydropower plants and the Laos-China railway.
Anhui Conch sales up by 35% to US$11.9bn in 2017
23 March 2018China: Anhui Conch’s sales revenue grew by 35% year-on-year to US$11.9bn in 2017 from US$8.85bn in 2016. Its net profit nearly doubled to US$2.51bn from US$1.36bn. The cement producer said that it had, ‘seized the favourable opportunities arising from the state’s further deepening of supply-side structural reform and the promotion of off-peak season production.’
During the year Anhui Conch opened eight cement grinding plants including Quanjiao Conch Cement, Anhui Xuancheng Conch Cement and Nantong Conch Cement. Outside of China the company completed phase two of its Merak grinding plant in Indonesia and started cement production and completed construction of the North Sulawesi Conch plant in Indonesia and the Battambang Conch plant in Cambodia. The units in Indonesia and Cambodia are due to start production in 2018. A new plant, Luang Prabang Conch, is being built in Laos and preliminary work on projects at Volga Conch in Russia, Vientiane in Laos and Mandalay in Myanmar is underway. At the end of 2017 Anhui Conch says it has a clinker and cement production capacity of 246t/yr and 335Mt/yr respectively.
The cement producer also announced that its Baimashan Cement plant was intending to start operating a CO2 collection and purification pilot project in the first half of 2018. The initiative is part of the group’s moves to implement the government’s low-carbon development strategy.
Tata International signs contract with Vissai Cement Group for joint-venture in Vietnam
07 March 2018Vietnam: Tata International Singapore has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vissai Cement Group to form a joint venture company in to use the port of Vinh. The deal is expected to create a distribution network for coal, according to the Press Trust of India. The company will also be responsible for Vissai Cement’s coal imports. The joint-venture is expected to benefit from the port’s location as a key gateway for trade into and out of Laos.