Displaying items by tag: Vietnam

Vietnam: Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) has forecast a 16% year-on-year rise in Vietnam’s cement and clinker exports to 44.5Mt from 38.4Mt. 22.3Mt (50%) of the 2021 exports will be to China. Viet Nam News has reported that VCBS forecast a drop in Vietnam’s cement and clinker exports to China in 2022 due to a Chinese property market slowdown. From 2023, the Vietnam government plans to raise its clinker export tariff to 10% from 5%.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) plans to spend US$2bn towards meeting its CO₂ reduction target by 2030. The industrial group and cement producer intends to reduce its emissions by 20% by the end of the decade, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper. Chief executive officer Roongrote Rangsiyopash, said that the investment will be made from 2022 to 2030 and that it follows the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the Thai government's bio, circular and green (BCG) economic model and environmental, social and governance standards (ESG). After 2030 the group has a net zero goal for 2050.

In cement production the SCG wants to increase its rate of alternative fuels such as biomass and refuse-derived fuel. It also wants to invest in carbon capture utilisation and storage, use electric vehicles and use artificial intelligence systems in energy management. The group plans to reduce coal usage at its cement plants in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia by 50% in 2022. It also plans to use more electricity generated by renewable energy for its factories.

Philippines: The Philippines Department of Trade and Industry has enacted a temporary duty on some imports of cement from Vietnam. The Manila Times newspaper has reported that the measure will be in force until April 2022 and only apply to ‘dumped’ cement. Importers will pay a duty of between US$1.02/t and US$10.50/t on ordinary Portland cement and between US$1.16/t and US$12.80/t on blended cement.

The measure follows a probe carried out on the basis of a petition by domestic cement producers APO Cement, Holcim Philippines, Republic Cement and Solid Cement. The probe found that the domestic cement industry had suffered a loss of market share and declining domestic sales between July 2019 and December 2020.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said "We do not anticipate that these duties will result in an increase in the retail price of cement, because its effect on landed cost is minimal.” He added “Any price increases in imported cement will be discouraged by competition from domestic cement producers. The provisional anti-dumping duties will be imposed only on specific Vietnamese exporters found to be dumping cement to the Philippines. Vietnamese exporters who are not dumping can continue to export cement without having to post the provisional anti-dumping cash bond.”

Vietnam: Vietnam exported 43Mt of cement and clinker in the first 11 months of 2021, up by 24% year-on-year from 11-month export volumes in 2020. Viet Nam News has reported that the value of Vietnam’s cement and clinker exports rose by 28% to US$1.67bn. The country’s full-year cement and clinker exports in 2020 were 38.4Mt, with a total value of US$1.44bn.

Vietnam: Cement producers have raised their prices due to mounting coal costs. In October 2021 Bim Son Cement increased the cost of its products by 6%, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Other manufacturers have done likewise. Data from the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors shows that local coal prices have grown by 7 – 10% recently. Coal represents around 40 – 45% of the production cost of cement. Prices of diesel and additives have also risen.

Vietnam: Local residents have blocked entrances to Van Ninh cement plant in Quang Binh’s Quang Ninh district in protest against alleged pollution violations. Van Ninh Cement previously incurred a US$3100 fine for dust emissions following a similar protest in 2017. The residents have put up tents in which to sleep in front of the plant in order to prevent the blockade’s removal.

UK: The Clean Growth Fund has led a Euro1.19m investment in cement industry decarbonisation software developer Carbon Re. Other investors are Blue Impact Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise Fund and UCL Technology Fund. The supplier says that its deep reinforcement learning AI product can reduce cement plants’ operating costs by Euro1.97 – 5.09/yr and eliminate 20% of Scope 1 emissions. Five pilot installations of its Delta Zero platform are installed at cement plants in the EU, India, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

CEO Sherif Elsayed-Ali said “Our mission is to reduce global emissions at the gigatonne scale, starting with the cement industry, and to become the leading global AI company to deliver industrial decarbonisation. Carbon Re’s AI technology provides heavy industry with an effective solution to address their critical challenges of energy costs and emissions reduction.” He added “The road to a zero-carbon world will be long, but with the support of the Clean Growth Fund and our other investors, our AI-products and solutions will evolve to accelerate the transition of energy intensive industries.”

Vietnam: Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) members sold 77.5Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2021, up by 3.5% year-on-year. Vietnamese cement exports rose by 19% over the same period, to 31.9Mt. This corresponds to 41% of total sales. State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) exported 14.5Mt of cement, 45% of national cement exports. Viet Nam News has reported that the country ended the nine-month period with 3.6Mt of cement and clinker in inventory.

Vietnam: SCG Packaging plans to invest US$354m to establish a new 370,000t/yr packaging plant in Vinh Phuc province. The Tuoi Tre newspaper has reported that operations at the plant will commence in early 2024. The product will be Vina Kraft Paper brand bags. The Siam Cement Group (SCG) subsidiary will finance the expansion through cash and debt.

Vietnam: Member of the Vietnam Cement Association produced 70.7Mt of cement and clinker in the first eight months of 2021, up by 4% year-on-year from 27.2Mt in the corresponding period of 2020. Its exports rose by 12% to 27.2Mt. Viet Nam News has reported that the main importers of Vietnamese cement and clinker were China, the Philippines and Bangladesh. During the period, domestic demand fell by 5% to 43.5Mt.