Global Cement News

Uzbekistan: Anhui Conch Cement inaugurated its new 2.3Mt/yr Tashkent cement plant at Kiziloy on 21 August 2023. The plant cost US$320m and will produce 30% of its cement for export. UzReport News has reported that the plant will directly employ 300 people.

China: West China Cement recorded sales of US$605m during the first quarter of 2023, up by 5.6% year-on-year from US$573m in the first half of 2022, Reuters has reported. Nonetheless, its net profit dropped by 19% to US$72.9m from US$90.6m.

Tanzania: The Tanzania Fair Competition Tribunal (FCT) has ruled that Heidelberg Materials subsidiary Scancem International cannot acquire Tanga Cement from AfriSam at present. The Fair Competition Committee had previously approved the acquisition to proceed in February 2023. In its latest ruling, the FCT found that the commission had not been within its powers to set aside a previous court ruling of the FCT, dated September 2022. The FCT acknowledged that the market situation may have changed since its first ruling, but underlined the need for legal procedure.

Judge Salma Maghimbi said “The act or conduct of the two respondents did not send a good message to the public, nor to potential investors who would have been interested in coming to invest in our country.”

Gambia: Heidelberg Materials has sold its business in the Gambia to iron and steel products company B5 Plus. The business consists of the Banjul cement terminal. Heidelberg Materials says that it will continue to supply West African customers through its operations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia and Togo. The company sold its subsidiary in Sierra Leone in 2021.

China: Gansu Qilianshan Cement followed the general downward trend in Chinese cement producers’ results in the first half of 2023. Reuters has reported that the company recorded a net profit of US$32.6m, down by 53% year-on-year from first half of 2022.