Australia: National press in Australia has reported that the Irish building materials giant CRH has approached Boral regarding a possible takeover. CRH snapped up US$6.5bn of assets from Lafarge and Holcim in 2015 following their merger to become LafargeHolcim, and it consequently became the third-largest building materials supplier by market value internationally.

The speculation comes amid market expectations that Boral could be broken up if a takeover does not unfold soon. Suitors have looked at Boral before but a deal has never eventuated. The company’s market value is US$3.9bn, so it could be within the grasp of a cash-rich strategic player or private equity firm from overseas. Three years ago Boral was worth more than US$4.8bn.

Meanwhile, Australia's devastating recent bushfires have affected Boral’s Berrima plant in New South Wales, likely leading to lower production and margins. This was due to extended leave for staff and road closures.

India: A 20 year old man has been arrested in Nalanda, Bihar for allegedly creating a fake UltraTech Cement website. The individual reportedly took payment for cement and then ceased contact, leaving genuine UltraTech Cement representatives in the state with angry enquiries. UltraTech then reported the site to police.

Police have stated that the arrested man, Rohit Kumar Balram Prasad, has been charged under sections 482 (using false property mark), 483 (counterfeiting a property mark used by another), 419 (cheating by personation) among others of the IPC and the Information Technology Act. They added that further arrests are expected.

Vietnam: Maintaining exports will be critical for the Vietnamese cement industry amid rising production output and anticipated sluggish domestic sales in 2020, according to Nguyễn Quang Cung, President of the Vietnam Cement Association (VCA).

Cung also reported that two new cement plants will go into operation during 2020: a 2.5Mt/yr plant in Tân Thắng Commune in the central province of Nghệ, and a 4.6Mt/yr plant in Bỉm Sơn Commune, Thanh Hóa. These new facilities will give the domestic cement industry a total production capacity of more than 100Mt/yr, with local demand estimated to be closer to 70Mt/yr. “Maintaining exports will be critical for the cement industry this year,” said Cung, but domestic projects are likely to remain ‘sluggish’ due to stagnant infrastructure projects.

Over the medium term, Cung said that cement exports would fall to 25Mt in 2021 form 34Mt in 2020, based on an expectation that domestic sales will increase.

Germany: The 4th Global CemBoards Conference & Exhibition has begun at the Marriott Hotel in Freising, near Munich, Germany. The event, which covers global market trends in cement-based boards and panel systems, the latest advances in production technology and how producers can add value to their products worldwide, will hear nine presentations over the course 21 and 22 January 2020.

The event is also host to a related exhibition of suppliers to the global cement board sector. Extensive opportunities for networking will be available, with the Global Boards Social Evening held at the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan on the evening of the first day.

A full report from the event will be published in due course.