Displaying items by tag: Thailand
Siam City Cement Group hires Avaya and Loxley to strengthen communication infrastructure
28 February 2018Thailand: Siam City Cement Group has hired US company Avaya and Thai technology company Loxley to upgrade its communication infrastructure. The project was intended to help the cement producer manage the transformation into a multinational company with operations in Thailand, Sir Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam and 1500 workers. Products from Avaya have enabled employees in different regions to connect via a range of devices and channels via varied internet connections in different territories. The project has also enabled employees to use video conferencing to collaborate and to reduce the need for travel.
“With our rapid expansion across the region, we wanted a cost-effective solution that would enable us to meet our sustainable development objectives while driving our digital transformation journey,” said Khun Ittaya Sirivasukarn, chief executive officer (CEO) of Insee Digital, the IT subsidiary of Siam City Cement.
SCG Cement sees sales growth in 2017 despite sluggish market
24 January 2018Thailand: SCG Cement’s sales revenue rose by 3% year-on-year to US$5.5bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 6% to US$705m. The cement producer reported that overall domestic Ordinary Portland Cement demand fell by 5% in 2017 due to a slow recovery in the private sector. Total domestic consumption of cement was around 37.5Mt 2017 and exports rose to 4Mt from 3.7Mt in 2016.
Siam Cement’s sales up so far in 2017 due to regional expansion
07 November 2017Thailand: Siam Cement Company’s (SCG) sales revenue from its cement business has increased so far in 2017 due to contributions from expanded operations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Its sales rose by 2% year-on-year to US$4bn for the first nine months of 2017. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation fell by 6% to US$526m, mainly due to weaker demand in Thailand.
Siam Cement Group signs US coal import deal
05 October 2017Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has signed a deal to import 155,000t of coal from the US for its cement plants in Thailand and elsewhere in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Kalin Sarasin, a senior SCG executive and chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, made the announcement following an official visit to the US by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, according to the Nation newspaper.
SCG will buy 100,000t of US coal in the first contract and a second contract will be for 55,000t to test the quality. Subsequently, the cement producer may buy more coal. At present, SCG imports around 6Mt/yr coal from Indonesia and Australia. The US coal will be used to substitute some of the Indonesian supply, which has been imported due to a higher demand for coal for power stations.
Siam City Cement wants to expand within Vietnam
08 August 2017Vietnam: Thailand’s Siam City Cement Group wants to expand investment in the production and supply of construction materials and waste treatment in Vietnam’s southern Dong Nai Province, according to its local CEO Philippe Richart.
At a working session with the provincial People’s Committee in Dong Nai on 8 August 2017, Richart noted that the group has invested in the former Holcim cement plant in Nhon Trach district and will expand the plant in the future. He added that the company will also invest in an industrial dry mortar plant and a transit station for construction materials in Dong Nai. It is also focusing on waste treatment, he said, adding that the group is using the latest technologies in this field.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Quoc Hung cited a number of key projects being carried out in the locality such as major expressway projects and the Long Thanh airport, which will be launched in 2019. It is expected that cement demand will increase significantly in the local area due to these and smaller developments.
Siam Cement Group downgrades forecast for 2017
27 July 2017Thailand: Siam Cement Group has revised down its sales growth outlook for 2017 to 3 – 5 % from 5 - 10%, following an unexpected drop in cement demand in the first half of the year. The group's net profit in the April to June period was US$396m, a decrease of 17% year-on-year, on sales of US$3.2bn, unchanged from the same period of 2016.
"The cement market in Thailand slowed down more than we expected," explained Chief Executive Roongrote Rangsiyopash. Net profits in cement and building materials, one of its three core business units, slid by 29%.
Roongrote said that government infrastructure projects, which are being increasingly approved and going through bidding procedures, had not yet reached the stage of actually needing cement.
Domestic cement sales by volume were down by 7% year-on-year in the April-June period, following an earlier 7% fall in the previous quarter. Demand in all sectors, from the government, commercial construction and residential buildings, declined. "I hope that the latter half of the year will improve, but I am not sure that we can make up for the decline in the first half," added Roongrote.
Adding to the slow domestic market, other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets also saw sluggish cement demand, although Roongrote shrugged off concerns, saying that the slump had been caused by ‘temporary factors.’
SCG opens research and development centre
21 July 2017Thailand: SCG had opened its ‘Open Innovation Centre’ research and development hub. As well as supporting SCG’s internal research across its three core businesses the centre also intends to support business start-ups in conjunction with the group. Suvit Maesincee, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, Atchaka Sibunruang, Minister of Science and Technology, Roongrote Rangsiyopash, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of SCG and Cholanat Yanaranop, Executive Vice President of SCG and Chairman of SCG Innovation Committee attended the event.
Thailand: Siam City Cement has deployed pervasive network infrastructure and plant-wide wireless connectivity at its Plant 3 in Saraburi as part of its ‘Digital Connected Plant’ plan. Cisco supplied the hardware and Fujitsu helped with the system integration, according to the Nation newspaper. The upgrade is part of the cement producer’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) strategy where it intends to track employees, contractors and assets in real time to raise productivity and safety.
Thailand: Siam Cement Group’s Building Materials division’s sales fell by 2% year-on-year to US$1.29bn in the first quarter of 2017 due to lower prices and falling volumes in the local market. The group reported that domestic cement demand fell by 7% in the quarter due to flooding in the south of the country. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) for the division were also negatively affected by the weather falling by 10% to US$181m. Overall the group’s sales and EBITDA rose due to earnings from its Chemical division.
Holcim Vietnam renamed as Siam City Cement Vietnam
02 March 2017Vietnam: Holcim Vietnam has been officially renamed as Siam City Cement Vietnam following its acquisition by Thailand’s Siam City Cement. Holcim products will now be sold locally under the Insee brand, according to the Saigon Times. An agreement for Siam City Cement to buy LafargeHolcim’s 65% stake in Holcim Vietnam was announced in August 2016.