Global Cement News

Paraguay: The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) has lifted restrictions on cement imports following problems with local production. The local market needs around 100,000 bags/day of cement and state-owned Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) normally provides around half of this, according to the ABC Color newspaper. However, production problems at INC’s plants have seen significant drops in supply.

China: Cemex’s corporate venture capital subsidiary Cemex Ventures is preparing to enter the Chinese market offering innovations for the construction industry. It wants to build relationships with startups in order to do this and it has signed deals with local companies Glodon, a digital platform service provider in construction industry based in Beijing, and Interdream Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on the digitalisation of construction and decoration industry.

"This type of alliance between two segments that fit together, is key to finding new successful business models, and operate in the Chinese market. Glodon and Interdream Ventures also have a complete vision of the entire value chain and are good partners to drive the construction revolution,” said Juan Nieto, a representative of Cemex Ventures Asia.

Cemex Ventures is the corporate venture capital wing of Cemex that was launched in 2017. It invests in startups with potential in the construction industry and works with entrepreneurs, universities and other stakeholders.

US: Global Cement is exhibiting at the 36th International Cement Seminar & Exhibition taking place in Atlanta, Georgia. The long running cement equipment and technology event has returned after a lengthy break. Portland Cement Association (PCA) chief economist Ed Sullivan gave the keynote address at the conference with an industry forecast for 2020.

Brazil: Markets in Brazil and North America have supported Votorantim Cimentos’ sales so far in 2019, despite setbacks in Turkey and Latin America. Its sales revenue rose by 2% year-on-year to US$907m in the first nine months of 2019 from US$891m in the same period in 2018. Overall sales volumes of cement fell slightly to 8.4Mt. The cement producer’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 5% to US$188m from US$199m, with declines reported in all operation regions except North America.

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement’s profit has risen so far in 2019 due to stable cement prices and falling coal prices. Its net profit increased by 11.1% year-on-year to US$214m in the first nine months of 2019, according to the Taipei Times newspaper. However, its sales revenue fell by 3.5% to US$2.87bn. The cement producer says it has a production capacity of 102Mt/yr following the formation of a joint venture in Turkey and an acquisition in Portugal in 2018.

The company reported higher labour, transportation and raw material costs in China in the third quarter of 2019. Its expenses were also inflated by environmental upgrades. Company president John Li said, that despite falling prices in Guizhou province, demand in regional markets, including Guangdong, Guangxi and Jiangsu provinces was expected to remain beneficial.