Displaying items by tag: Thailand

Thailand: King Maha Vajiralongkorn has taken personal ownership of royal assets including a stake in Siam Cement. In March 2018 stock exchange data showed that the king acquired around a US$150m stake in the cement and chemical producer, according to Reuters. The Crown Property Bureau has transferred ownership of the assets worth at least US$30bn to the monarch.

Thailand: SCG’s cement business’ earnings have risen due to higher local prices and cost savings in the first quarter of 2018. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) rose by 7% year-on-year to US$201m in the first quarter of 2018 from US$195m in the same period in 2017. The company said that local demand for cement remained flat in the reporting period as increased demand from the government sector balanced out declines elsewhere. Local exports rose by 20% to 1.2Mt.

Thailand: Amir Reza Sinai has been appointed as the managing director of Beumer Group’s subsidiary in Thailand. The local company, which has 59 employees, acts as Beumer’s regional headquarters in South East and East Asia, where it covers the divisions Conveying & Loading Systems and Palletising & Packaging Systems. It also provides solutions for the cement industry.

Prior to working for Beumer, Amir Reza Sinai was the chief executive officer of the Indonesian subsidiary of a global plant engineering and construction company. He joined Beumer’s Thai subsidiary in early 2017, and for almost a year he headed the company’s office in Jakarta, Indonesia. He took up his current post on 1 January 2018.

Thailand: Golden Lime, a subsidiary of Carmeuse and GP Group, has acquired a 99.9% stake in Thailand’s fourth largest lime company Saraburi Quicklime. Carmeuse says that this is the first acquisition among lime producers in the country. With the commissioning of a new production site early in 2018 and the acquisition of Saraburi Quicklime, Golden Lime’s production capacity has grown to 0.5Mt/yr from 0.33Mt/yr. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

Switzerland: Clothing company Elephbo is selling backpacks made from used Thai cement bags for as much as Euro120. The products have caused amusement in Thailand on social media, according to the Independent newspaper. Used cement bags from Siam Cement and Insee Diamond brands are being used with leather by the Swiss company to make a variety of fashion products including wallets, caps and trainers.

Thailand: 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.

Thailand: 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.

Thailand: 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.

Thailand: 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.

Vietnam: 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.