Displaying items by tag: Vietnam

Vietnam: Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) has said that its cement and clinker sales fell by 0.5% to 10.7Mt in the first half of 2015, according to Vietnam News Brief Service.

Some 9.58Mt was sold to the domestic market, up 7.1% year-on-year, while 1.15Mt was exported, down by 37.7%. In the first half of this year, Vicem produced 8.36Mt of clinker and 9.2Mt of cement, rising by 5% and 6.1% year-on-year, respectively. As of 30 June 2015, Vicem had 1.75Mt of cement and clinker inventory, including 1.41Mt of clinker, equivalent to 28 days of production.

Vicem aims to produce 4.26Mt of clinker and 5.21Mt of cement in the third quarter of 2015. It also aims to sell 5.97Mt of cement in the third quarter, raising the full-year target to 13.1Mt. In 2014, Vicem's clinker production grew by 0.7% year-on-year to 16.5Mt while its cement output rose by 10.3% to 18.5Mt.

Vietnam: The Vissai Cement Group, which is building the 12,000t/day Song Lam Cement Plant, has announced that ground clearance has already set the project back by US$11m. The group has reported 'facing financial difficulties' as a result of this expense and is also struggling with the costs of clearing the path for a road between the plant site and an existing grinding facility. It was originally expected that the plant would produce its first clinker by September 2016.

Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction looks set to realize its target of allowing all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) at its helm to 'go public' at the end of 2015, according to Deputy Minister Le Quang Hung. He said, in a recent report, that seven out of 16 corporations and holding companies under the ministry have undergone equitisation and the remaining nine would go public between now and the end of 2015.

The SOEs subject to equitisation include Vietnam National Construction Consultant Corporation (VNCC), Building Materials Corporation No. 1 (FiCO) and Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM), among others.

A revised Enterprise Law, which took effect on 1 July 2015, says that SOEs are now defined as 100% owned by the state, instead of 51% or above as previously. Therefore, in addition to the construction ministry, the new law also helps other ministries complete restructuring and equitisation plans for SOEs under their respective umbrellas.

Vietnam: According to Vietnam News Agency Bulletin, domestic cement consumption and exports both improved in the first half of 2015 despite increased competitive pressure from neighbouring countries.

Statistics from the construction ministry showed that in the first half of 2015, Vietnam's cement consumption grew by 6% year-on-year to 34.2Mt, meeting 47% of the whole year's target. Of this, domestic consumption was 5% higher than in 2014 at 25.9Mt. Vietnam exported 8.19Mt of cement, representing an 8% year-on-year increase. In June 2015, cement consumption was estimated at 5.68Mt, 12% higher than in 2014, including 4.63Mt in the domestic market and 1.05Mt for exports. The ministry said that cement and clinker exports in the first half of 2015 faced difficult conditions in some markets, especially Bangladesh.

Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association, said that there was no concern about the cement consumption in the 2015 - 2016 period thanks to a rising domestic demand. In 2015, domestic cement consumption is estimated to increase by 5Mt. Cung said that cement consumption in the domestic market has risen thanks to improvement in the real estate market, while rural infrastructures have been actively developed. The ministry has calculated that cement consumption in 2015 will grow by 1.5 – 2% to 72 - 74Mt. Of this, local consumption will be 53 – 54Mt, while 19 – 20Mt will be exported.

In 2015 Vietnam will have two new projects, including the 600,000t/yr capacity Song Lam 2 cement plant and the 3.6Mt/yr capacity Cong Thanh Cement plant. This will bring the country's total cement production lines to 76, with 81.6Mt/yr of designed capacity.

Cement production in 2016 is expected to meet domestic consumption demands plus 15 – 16Mt of exports, in addition to a reserve of 10 – 15% to stabilise the market, especially in the southern region. Cung said that there will not be any new cement projects in 2016, although a number of major projects would be carried out during the 2017 - 2018 period.

Vietnam: According to Vietnam News Brief Service, deputy prime minister Hoang Trung Hai has agreed to allow Nghi Son Cement Corporation to continue the pilot import of fly ash as a raw material for its cement production.

The deputy prime minister had earlier agreed to allow Nghi Son Cement Corporation to import no more than 200,000t/yr of fly ash in 2015 - 2016. He also requested the company to develop a plan to use domestic fly ash for cement production from 2017.

Vietnam has a huge supply of fly ash. It is estimated that the thermal power plants in Vietnam produce 4.5Mt/yr of fly ash. The figure is expected to hit 35Mt/yr in 2030. According to Vietnam News Brief Service, agencies, companies and localities have not shown their willingness to share interests with others, leading to fly ash sourcing difficulties for many companies.

Vietnam: Vietnam is estimated to have produced 32.1Mt of cement in the first half of 2015, up by 10.5% year-on-year, including 6Mt in June, up by 26.8% year-on-year, according to the government-run General Statistics Office.

In the first five months of 2015, Vietnam produced 26.1Mt of cement, compared to the earlier estimated 26.6Mt, according to the office's revised figure. The country's cement and clinker sales are expected to rise by 1.5 - 4% year-on-year to 72 – 74Mt in 2015, of which domestic sales will rise by 4.5 - 6.5% to 53 – 54Mt, while exports will be 19 – 20Mt.

Vietnam: Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) said that its cement and clinker sales in May 2015 grew by 10% year-on-year to 2.01Mt. Of the volume, 1.84Mt of cement and clinker were sold to the domestic market while 162,000t were exported.

In the first five months of 2015, Vicem's cement and clinker sales fell by 1.4% year-on-year to 9.08Mt. Of this, 8.0Mt was sold to the domestic market, up by 6.2% year-on-year, while 1.06Mt was exported, down by 34% year-on-year. Vicem produced 6.97Mt of clinker and 7.61Mt of cement in the first five months of 2015, rising by 5.1% and 4.1% year-on-year respectively. Of this, 1.47Mt of clinker and 1.82Mt of cement was produced in May 2015.

Vicem plans to produce 1.52Mt of clinker and 1.58Mt of cement and aims to sell 1.73Mt of cement and clinker in June 2015.

Vietnam: Vietnam is estimated to have produced 26.6Mt of cement in the first five months of 2015, up by 9% year-on-year. The total includes 6.3Mt in May 2015, according to the government-run General Statistics Office.

Vietnam: FLSmidth has received a US$109m order from the Vietnamese cement producer Xuan Than Group for the supply of a complete 12,000t/day capacity cement plant. The plant will be located approximately 100km south of Hanoi. Once completed, the plant will be the largest cement plant in Southeast Asia with the most energy-efficient equipment, state-of-the-art emissions control systems.

"The Vietnamese cement market is expected to grow over the coming years and it is a well-known market to FLSmidth as we have been present in the country for many years. The construction of the largest cement plant in Southeast Asia proves our strong position in the area," said president of the cement division, Per Mejnert Kristensen. The order will be booked by the cement division and contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until mid 2017.

Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) said that growing cement exports have helped domestic cement plants to slash inventories in recent years.

Vietnam produced around 70.6Mt of cement in 2014, 15% higher than 2013. Domestic consumption totalled 50.9Mt, while export sales reached 21.1Mt, up by 10% and 30% year-on-year respectively. Big producers like Vicem, Nghi Son, Chinfon, Thang Long Vina, Vissai and Thang Long contributed 80% of total cement exports in 2014. Their major markets were Bangladesh, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of VNCA, said that the supply - demand balance would continue to improve in 2015 as demand for construction materials in the country and abroad is forecast to pick up. However, the VNCA warned that local cement enterprises would have to cope with fiercer competition at home and abroad. Cung said that Cong Thanh Cement Co would commission a 3.6Mt/yr clinker line in Thanh Hoa in June 2015. In addition, the Dong Lam and Thach My cement plants have run at full capacity so far in 2015. An imbalance between supply and demand might occur if clinker and cement exports decline as Vietnam now faces tough competition from other exporting countries like China, South Korea and Thailand.