Hungary: The government has enacted an 'architecture law' which will increase its role in decision making within the Hungarian cement industry. When it enters force in July 2023, the law will let the government set producers' cement volumes and prices. It will also require the companies to sell their products to the market-leading retail network, and will give the government a right of first refusal over future divestments.

Der Spiegel News has reported that the government previously enacted decrees that further regulated limestone production, imposed 90% 'additional mining levies' and required producers to obtain special permits to export their cement abroad. Duna-Dráva Cement, a subsidiary of Heidelberg Materials and Schwenk Zement, reportedly began making losses on its bagged cement sales due to the new rules. Both Germany-based owners separately received letters inviting them to sell a stake in Duna-Dráva Cement, and thanking them for their cooperation, in 2022. The sender identified themself as the owner of an 'intensively expanding group of companies' with a 'dominant position in the Hungarian building materials industry.' Anti-corruption organisation Transparency International identified the correspondent as a friend of Hungarian President Viktor Orbán.

Regarding the incoming change to the law, a representative of Heidelberg Materials said "These regulations are a total violation of all the rules of the European internal market. It is obvious that the government wants to pressure foreign cement manufacturers to sell.”

Japan: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Osaka Gas have launched a collaboration to develop a value chain for captured CO₂ from Japan's hard-to-abate industries, including the cement sector. JCN Newswire has reported that their collaboration will leverage MHI's expertise in CO₂ capture, liquefied CO₂ maritime vessel transport and CO₂ management, and Osaka Gas' expertise in e-methane production and CO₂ storage. The project will integrate MHI and IBM Japan's CO₂nnex software platform to model value chains. The project aims to contribute to the realisation of Japan's target of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

UK: Hanson UK says that its planned installation of a carbon capture system at its Padeswood cement plant in Flintshire has proceeded to the due diligence and negotiations stage. The project aims to achieve net zero CO₂ cement production by capturing 800,000t/yr of CO₂. It is part of the HyNet North West array of projects, which combines green hydrogen and carbon capture to build a first-of-its-kind industrial decarbonisation cluster.

Hanson UK CEO Simon Willis said “I would like to thank the government and all of those that supported us in our bid to receive funding which will enable us to help decarbonise the construction industry and meet our overall ambition to become a net zero business. This global exemplar project will provide net zero construction materials for major projects across the country, from new offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations to clean transport infrastructure.”

Colombia: A criminal court has found former Cemex Colombia vice president Édgar Ramírez Martínez and fellow former director Eugenio Correa Díaz guilty of fraud, according to El Espactador newspaper. The court found that Ramírez Martínez had committed unfair administration, illicit enrichment and falsification of a private document in the process of obtaining land for use as a quarry to supply its Maceo cement plant in Antioquia. It found that Correa Díaz had committed illicit enrichment, money laundering and falsification of a private document while serving as an intermediary in the same process. Ramírez Martínez received a prison sentence of 15 years and one month, while Correa Díaz received a sentence of 20 years.

Cemex Colombia obtained the land in question during the administration of the estate of deceased embezzler José Aldemar Moncada. The court found that it had defrauded the true owners, a local family, in order to include it in Moncada's asset forfeiture prior to sale to Cemex Colombia by Correa Díaz.

China: Xinjiang Tianshan Cement has secured board approval for an issue of commercial paper. Reuters has reported the total value of the paper as US$2.19bn.

India: Adani Group has reportedly relocated 'significant roles' in ACC and Ambuja Cements to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. ACC and Ambuja Cements' headquarters are situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and employ 6000 and 4700 people respectively. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that many people in leadership positions now based in Ahmedabad continue to run teams in Mumbai.

Pakistan: Bestway Cement has ignited the kiln of Line 1 of its Mianwali cement plant in Punjab. The line has a capacity of 2.3Mt/yr. The Pakistan Observer newspaper has reported that it increases the producer's cement capacity by 18% to 15.3Mt/yr and brings its total number of production lines to eight. The Mianwali cement plant is equipped with a 20MW solar power plant and will run on 50% renewable energy. It also has a 9MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant, an air cooled condenser (ACC) system and a rainwater harvesting system.

Bestway Cement CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey said "It's a great day for the company. Our new greenfield production line at Mianwali has been set up in a record time, despite various hurdles and supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19."

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia subsidiary Semen Baturaja has obtained four loans worth a total US$59.9m. Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Mandiri, Bank CIMB Niaga and HSBC Indonesia advanced the funds. The loans' syndicated credit agreement aligns with Semen Baturaja's sustainability strategy, which is based on Semen Indonesia's Sustainability Framework.

Semen Baturaja's managing director Daconi Khotob said "This syndicated sustainability-linked loan will provide many benefits for Semen Baturaja, including lower interest rates than conventional loans, more attractive term sheets and the flexibility to make accelerated repayments." Khotob added that the sustainability provisions will also 'broaden the scope of investors.'

Canada: The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) said that it is 'confident that Canada will lead in building clean technologies for a sustainable future' following the publication of the government's Budget 2023 on 29 March 2023. The budget includes US$26bn-worth of green tax credits. US$19.2bn-worth of this is allotted to renewable energy. It also includes a final design for Canada's Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). CAC president and CEO Adam Auer said that, when finalised, the budget will help to 'close the gap' between existing Canadian legislation and incentives offered under the US Inflation Reduction Act and EU Green Deal Industrial Plan.

Auer said “With close to 60% of our emissions resulting from the immutable chemistry of making cement, deep investment in innovative and expensive technologies, like CCUS, are both vital and unavoidable. With Budget 2023, the government clearly affirmed its understanding of the final role this technology plays in our industry’s efforts to reach net-zero." He continued “We were also pleased to see references to carbon contracts for difference (CCfD). Canada’s cement companies, like many industries in Canada, are part of large multinationals, and divisions must compete within their companies for projects. Investing in net-zero projects requires predictability. The certainty that CCfDs can provide is the difference between attracting investment, building projects and creating clean jobs - or conceding the opportunity to our competitors."

Vietnam: The General Statistics Office recorded domestic cement production volumes of 27.4Mt throughout the first quarter of 2023. The figure corresponds to a drop of 9.9% year-on-year from first-quarter 2022 levels. Việt Nam News has reported that the country produced 116Mt of cement in 2022, up by 5.8% year-on-year.