Displaying items by tag: politics

India: JSW Group says that it will cease US$400m/yr worth of imports of Chinese equipment and materials due to Chinese military activities on the Sino-Indian border in Kashmir. Managing director Parth Jindal said, “The unprovoked attack by the Chinese on Indian soil, on our brave jawaans has been a huge wakeup call and a clarion call for action.”

Myanmar: General Saw Johnny, chief of staff of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), says that the group has not granted permission for Yadanar Sai Kaung Myat Kyaw Company to build a new cement plant at Hnget Pyaw Taw near Hlaingbwe. The representative of the military wing of the Karen National Union, a local political organisation, said that it had met with the company but that no final decision had been made, according to Burma News International. Yadanar Sai Kaung Myat Kyaw Company plans to build a 10,000t/day plant with an investment of US$760m. It intends to pay compensation to the owners of farmlands and plantations that are included in the project area and it has reached an initial agreement with respective state ministry to build the plant.

Spain: Cementos Molins is moving its registered address from the town of Sant Vicenc dels Horts in Catalonia, to Madrid. Sources quoted by the Expansión newspaper say it is due to the legal uncertainty in Catalonia. The company will continue to operate its cement plant in Sant Vicenc dels Horts but the publicly traded company and the group's holding, through which it channels its foreign investments, will be moved.

The Catalan regional government approved an independence referendum held in early October 2017. The central Spanish government rules it illegal and has moved to impose direct rule on the region.

Qatar: Mohamed Ali al-Sulaity, the general manager of the Qatar National Cement Company, says that a blockade of the country by neighbouring states has not effected its cement production. Al-Sulaity said that the cement producer has secured supplies of raw materials and is importing gypsum and iron oxide from Oman, according to the Al Sharq newspaper. He added that bags are being imported from Kuwait.

The company says that it has a surplus of cement production and is able to meet the country’s demand. It plans to operate its 5000t/day kiln number 5 in September 2017 that will increase its clinker production capacity to 19,000t/day and its cement capacity to 21,000t/day.

Several Middle Eastern countries – including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt – cut diplomatic links and implemented trade and travel embargos with Qatar in June 2017 over alleged links to terrorist groups and links to Iran.

India: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban imports of cement from Pakistan in the interest of domestic industry and national security. He said that imports of cement without levy of customs duty were introduced in 2007 to augment supply in view of high demand, according to the Press Trust of India. However, he added that the situation has since changed, with the local industry now facing capacity utilisation of below 70%.

"I request you to ban import of cement into the country not only in the interest of growth and sustenance of domestic cement industry but also in keeping with the imperatives of national security. Ban of import from Pakistan will be in the interest of the country's security in the present juncture," Swamy said in a letter to Modi. He added that imports from Pakistan also carried the risk of smuggling of contraband materials like drugs and weapons.