Displaying items by tag: National Committee for Cement Companies

Saudi Arabia: Jihad Al Rashid, the head of the Saudi National Committee for Cement Companies, has said that the local market only needs four large cement producers. He added that the industry does not need the 17 cement companies it has at present, according to the Al Eqtisadiah newspaper. The owners and shareholders of these companies are ‘seriously’ considering merger options. Al Rashid also said that the government and consumers would benefit from a consolidated industry.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia has lifted a ban on exporting cement, the chief executive of Yanbu Cement has said to local press. Ahmed bin Abduh Zugail, who is also the deputy head of the Saudi national committee of cement companies, added that cement companies have welcomed the relaxation of the ban. However, full details of the new regulations are yet to be released by the Ministry of Commerce.

Local press reported in late November 2015 that government bodies were considering cutting the ban on cement exports. The ban was originally introduced in Saudi Arabia to keep prices down and production flowing for large infrastructure projects built using oil revenue.

Saudi Arabia: Cement sales have dropped by 30% since the beginning of 'correction campaigns' against illegal foreign workers in early November 2013, according to Zamil Al-Miqrin, head of the National Committee for Cement Companies.

Speaking to local media, Al-Miqrin said the rate of sales reduction varies from one region to another adding that supplies currently surpass demand in the cement companies. The first week of the campaign saw a sharp fall in sales, as high as 50% for some companies, but Al-Miqrin expected an improvement in prices by the beginning of January 2014. He added that sales growth in cement had fallen by 10% in 2012 to 3% in 2013.

Saud Al-Araifi, CEO of the Northern Province Cement, said that cement producers in Saudi Arabia are unable to react to the crisis because exporting cement to foreign countries is banned by the Ministry of Commerce. He added that the crisis will be temporary until the current labour shortage in the construction market corrects itself. Other commentators have noted that the rate of stalled construction projects has been much higher in the private sector than in the government sector.