Displaying items by tag: Vietnam
Vicem sold 1.77Mt of cement and clinker in October 2013
11 November 2013Vietnam: State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) has sold 1.77Mt of cement and clinker in October 2013, a year-on-year increase of 5%.
1.47Mt of cement and clinker was sold in the domestic market, a year-on-year reduction of 8.3%, while 0.31Mt was exported, a 243.8% increase when compared with October 2012.
The Vietnamese company produced 1.34Mt of clinker and 1.32Mt of cement in October 2013, down by 5.9% and 7.1% respectively compared with October 2012.
During the first 10 months of 2013 Vicem's cement and clinker sales reached 17.7Mt, a 9.2% increase on the same period of 2012. 15.8Mt was sold in the domestic market and 1.8Mt was exported, representing increases of 4.8% and 74.2% compared with the same period in 2012. During the first 10 months of 2013, Vicem's cement output rose by 9.3% year-on-year to 12.39Mt.
Vicem projects that its cement and clinker sales will reach 1.91Mt in November 2013, and aims to produce 1.39Mt of clinker and 1.63Mt of cement in the same period.
Viettel acquires 70% stake in Cam Pha Cement in US$127m deal
30 October 2013Vietnam: Viettel Group, the leading telecom company in Vietnam operated by the Ministry of Defence, has signed an agreement with Vietnam Construction and Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation (Vinaconex), to buy a 70% stake in Cam Pha Cement. Viettel also purchased Cam Pha Cement's debts guaranteed by VCG in a deal with a total value of US$127m. Viettel currently holds a 21.3% stake in Vinaconex.
With the share sale, Vinaconex will cut its holding in the loss-making cement plant to 30% and avoid further losses from the unit. Vinaconex has paid US$114m worth of debts owed by Cam Pha Cement. Following the deal Cam Pha will sell its cement to military-run construction companies.
Cam Pha Cement made an accumulated loss of US$75m in 2012. The cement plant based in Quang Ninh Province has a production capacity of 2.3Mt/yr.
Vietnam set to overproduce 25Mt cement in 2013
16 October 2013Vietnam: The Vietnam Cement Association has said that Vietnam's cement production capacity will reach 70Mt/yr after three new cement plants start operation before the end of 2013. The three new projects include X18 cement project in Hoa Binh province, Phuc Quang cement project in Quang Binh province and Dong Lam cement project in Thua Thien, Hue province. Domestic consumption of cement is estimated to be approximately 45Mt/yr in 2013 giving the country an overcapacity of 25Mt/yr.
Vietnam adds three more cement plants despite surplus
01 October 2013Vietnam: The Vietnam Cement Association (VNCA) has said that three more cement plants will open later in 2013 – X18, Quang Phuc and Dong Lam - despite the country's current cement surplus.
According to reporting by the Tuoi Tre newspaper, the new plants will raise national cement production capacity to around 70Mt/yr. Domestic cement demand is estimated at up to 46Mt/yr in 2013. The opening of the new plants will lead to a surplus of up to 25Mt/yr.
Local cement producers in Vietnam face rising debts and high stock inventories due to inaccurate demand forecasts and massive investment. The country's cement sales are expected to rise by 4 - 5% year-on-year to up to 57Mt in 2013, including 49Mt of domestic sales and 8Mt of export.
Deputy general of Hoang Mai Cement retires
14 August 2013Vietnam: Hoang Mai Cement has announced that Dang Tang Cuong retired as deputy general director from 1 August 2013.
Vietnam: Vietnam exported nearly 5.2Mt of cement in the first half of 2013, a rise of 63% year-on-year compared to 3.2Mt in the same period in 2012 said the Ministry of Construction. Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia were the major destinations. The ministry also stated that cement sales have grown by 27.9% year-on-year, reaching 27.9Mt so far in 2013.
Due to reduced demand at home, many cement producers have focused on exports, said Tran Van Huynh, chairman of the Vietnam Construction Materials Association. The cement industry expects to export over 10Mt of cement in 2013, or 15% of the nation's total output. Huynh added that the Vietnamese export price was around 20% below the average global export price.
Exports have helped reduce the June 2013 inventory to around 2.6Mt, according to the construction ministry. The unsold volume of Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) accounts for half of this amount.
There have been no changes in the price of cement in the Vietnam market since January 2013 despite higher coal, power and fuel prices that have pushed up production costs and caused difficulties for domestic producers. The Vietnamese cement industry has a production capacity of 66Mt/yr and consumption for 2013 is forecast to be in the region of 57Mt.
Vietnamese plant coming by end of 2013
12 June 2013Vietnam: Xuan Thanh Investment and Development JSC, the investor behind the Thach My cement plant in the central province of Quang Nam, has said that the plant is on track to produce its first products in mid-December 2013.
The investor has completed about 95% of the project's construction and will hand it to the contractor on 15 July 2013, according to a government announcement.
The Thanh My cement plant covers 57.36 hectares in Nam Giang district. The plant has a total investment cost of US$192m and a designed capacity of 1.7Mt/yr of cement in its first phase. Construction began in July 2010 but it was delayed.
Once in operation, the plant will employ about 1000 local people.
Vietnam reports on first five months of 2013
03 June 2013Vietnam: Cement companies in Vietnam sold 19.15Mt of cement in the domestic market in the first five months of 2013, up by 9% from the same period of 2012, according to the Ministry of Construction. The country produced 23.8Mt of cement between January and May 2013, fulfilling 41% of Vietnam's whole-year target, including an on-year rise of 19% in May 2013.
Le Van Toi, director of the Building Material Department under the ministry said that the increase in cement sales in the first five months showed a recovery in the country's economy thanks to the government's stimulation packages to support the real estate market. It also signals an increase in demand for other building materials in the construction season, he added, noting that many cement grinding firms had had difficulty buying clinker in the first half of May 2013 as domestic demand surged.
Vietnam's cement output is expected to reach 79.45Mt in 2013, 81.56Mt in 2014 and 83.86Mt in 2015, according to the ministry.
Vietnam cement producers lost US$80m in 2012
12 April 2013Vietnam: Cement producers in Vietnam lost at least US$80m in 2012 in a bid to undercut each other, according to Tran Van Huynh, Chairman of Vietnam Building Material Association. Huynh made the comment as he warned that producers face 'huge' losses from attempts to clear surplus inventory by exporting cement and clinker. In 2012 local firms incurred losses of between US$8 - 10/t of exports.
Huynh asked local cement producers to cooperate instead of undercutting each other to keep export prices above domestic ones. He also recommended that the Vietnam Cement Association set reasonable export prices as well as help firms penetrate large markets.
Due to cement output exceeding demand, the Ministry of Construction has requested local cement firms to seek further export markets. However, local producers face difficulties in exporting cement due to poor infrastructure, high transport costs and a lack of competitiveness. In addition Vietnam lacks ports capable of docking ships over 50,000t that are necessary to carry goods to distant overseas markets.
Vietnam is predicted to face a huge cement inventory of 14 – 15Mt by 2015. By that time the country's cement output will reach 90Mt whilst demand is estimated to be 75 – 76Mt.
Vietnam to cancel nine cement plants from master plan
05 April 2013Vietnam: The Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a proposal of the Vietnam Building Material Association to cancel nine cement plant projects in order to keep in line with market demand.
The nine projects, Ha Tien-Kien Giang, Truong Son- Ro Li, Hop Son, Ngoc Ha, Vinafuji Lao Cai, Thanh Truong, Son Duong, Quang Minh and Cao Bang, will be removed from the country's master plan for cement industry. The prime minister also agreed to extend the deadline for the construction of seven other projects - He Duong II, My Duc, Thanh Son, Tan Thang, Do Luong, Tan Phu Xuan and Nam Dong - to after 2015.
The prime minister, however, added Xuan Thanh 2 cement plant in the northern province of Ha Nam to the list of projects slated for operation before 2015. The government leader asked the Ministry of Construction to cooperate with other ministries and agencies to ensure a balance between the cement supply and demand. He also asked the Ministries of Construction, Finance, Industry and trade, Vietnam Cement Association and Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) to facilitate cement exports, which Vietnam is already heavily involved in.
Local cement makers currently face difficulties due to huge inventory and low domestic demand caused by the frozen real estate market. In addition, high production costs, high lending interest rates and rising input costs have also put a heavy burden on local cement producers. The country is predicted to have a cement inventory of 14-15Mt by 2015, when the country's cement output will reach 90Mt/yr.