Malaysia: LafargeHolcim has completed the divestment of its activities in Malaysia with the disposal of its entire 51% shareholding in Lafarge Malaysia to YTL Cement for around Euro872m. The group says that the transaction will reduce its net financial debt by close to Euro530m. Together with the divestment of its activities in Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, this transaction is expected to ‘significantly’ reduce the company’s net debt to recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) ratio.

India: Accusations of violence by local police against activists protesting against a limestone mining lease granted to UltraTech Cement in Gujarat have been referred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Police from Bhavnagar allegedly attacked protestors with batons and used tear without prior provocation during a march in early January 2019, according to the DNA India newspaper. The protestors were complaining about a mining lease for a quarry in the Talaja district.

Peru: UNACEM has launched Andino Forte, a cement product targeted at markets in the Amazon regions of the country. The product is designed for construction projects in the jungle and highland regions, according to La Region newspaper. The cement producer says it offers high resistance against salt in the medium and long term.

China: Researchers from the Xinjiang Communications Construction Group have developed a new type of cement-based concrete that uses soil as well as wind-blown sand. The new concrete also uses construction waste and steel slag, according to the Xinhua News Agency. It is intended to lower construction costs and times with applications in infrastructure projects.

US: The chief executive officers (CEO) of 13 US companies, including LarfargeHolcim, are lobbying the President and Congress to enact business-led climate change legislation. This initiative, known as the CEO Climate Dialogue, urges the government to put in place a long-term federal policy as soon as possible, in accordance with a set of six guiding principles. The group aims to build bipartisan support for climate policies that it says will, “… increase regulatory and business certainty, reduce climate risk, and spur investment and innovation needed to meet science-based emissions reduction targets.”

Companies involved in the CEO Dialogue include BASF, BP, Citi, Dominion Energy, Dow, DTE Energy, DuPont, Exelon, Ford Motor Company, LafargeHolcim, PG&E, Shell, and Unilever. Four environmental groups have also supplied input to the initiative. These are the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Environmental Defense Fund, the Nature Conservancy and World Resources Institute.

The six principles include: ‘significantly’ reducing US greenhouse gas emissions; allowing an effective timeline for reductions that will help capital intensive industries to adjust in an ‘economically rational manner’; instituting a market-based price on carbon; making the policies durable and responsible; doing no harm to the competitiveness of the US economy with particular attention to carbon leakage; and promoting equity. Specifically the initiative says that US policy should ensure the country is on a path to achieve economy-wide emissions reductions of 80% or more by 2050 with ‘aggressive’ short and medium term emissions reductions.

“Tackling the challenge of climate change is no easy task, and as industry leaders, we have an opportunity to join forces to advocate for climate legislation. It is critical we begin to set durable and achievable goals that help safeguard the environment while reducing our carbon footprint,” said Jamie Gentoso, the CEO for US Cement operations of LafargeHolcim.

US: Eagle Materials has blamed falling sales from its Heavy Materials sector, including cement, concrete and aggregates, on ‘unusually’ wet weather. Its revenue from this market fell by 1% year-on-year to US$677m in the year to 31 March 2019 from US$685m in the same period in 2018. Cement sales volumes dropped slightly to 5.34Mt and concrete volumes by 12.5% to 0.8Mm³. Its operating earnings decreased by 10% to US$177m. Overall, the company’s sales and earnings grew slightly boosted by sales from its gypsum division.

Uzbekistan: China’s Huaxin Cement has held a ground breaking ceremony for a new 1.5Mt/yr cement plant it is building in Jizzakh region. The project has an investment of US$150m and it is scheduled to start operation in March 2020.

Ukraine/Russia: The Ukrainian government has imposed an embargo on Russian-manufactured cement and plywood in response to Russia’s ban on the entry of Ukrainian goods to the Russian market. The Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry recommended to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine that imports be blocked for the following goods: Portland cement, calcium aluminate cement, slag cement, sulphate resistant cement and similar hydraulic cement varieties, pigmented and non-pigmented, finished or clinker, as well as glue wood, lamwood panels and similar materials made from laminated wood.

Ukraine imported an estimated US$17m worth of cement products from Russia in 2018. The latest sanctions follow a block by Russia on goods from Ukraine in mid-April 2019.

Belarus: President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has demanded that the local cement industry improve its efficiency and increase its exports. He made the comments following the approval of the appointment of Alyaksandr Dawhala as the new chief executive officer of Belarusian Cement, according to the Belapan news agency. He noted that export sales were improving with a focus on the European Union although key markets also include Poland, Latvia and Ukraine.

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expects San Miguel Corporation’s acquisition of a majority stake in Holcim Philippines to reduce the price of locally produced cement. Trade Secretary Ramon M Lopez said that he expected operational synergies and economies of scale to ‘hopefully’ bring down prices, according to the BusinessWorld newspaper. He also noted that import duties on imports of cement could also provide a ‘healthy competitive environment.’

San Miguel Corporation agreed to purchase LafargeHolcim’s 85.7% share in Holcim Philippines in early May 2019. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.