India: The state government of Andhra Pradesh has issued show-cause notices to two limestone mining leases held by Bharathi Cement due to alleged irregularities in the allocation process. The Hans News newspaper reports that the current state administration has been looking at leases granted during the previous Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government. S Bharathi, the wife of YSRCP president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, is reportedly a director of Bharathi Cement. The previous state government granted two limestone leases to Bharathi Cement via application route in February 2024, despite the law requiring mineral lease to be allocated by electronic auction. It also preceded a change in an ethics code. The cement company has been asked to submit an explanation by late December 2025.

Kenya: President William Ruto has ruled out repealing a levy on importing clinker. This contradicts a previous statement preparing to relax the tax made by a trade minister on the matter, according to the Business Daily newspaper. Ruto noted that his country has enough limestone and other raw materials to produce cement locally.

Ruto made the comments at a signing ceremony between Bamburi Cement and Sinoma CBMI to build a new 1.6Mt/yr clinker grinding plant in Matuga, Kwale County. In October 2025, Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui said the government would petition the Kenyan Parliament to repeal the 17.5% export and investment promotion levy on clinker and steel, noting that it had had unintended effects on companies in these sectors.

Portugal: Molins has signed an agreement with Portuguese investment group Semapa to acquire 100% of cement producer Secil for €1.4bn. Molins said that the deal reinforces its presence in Europe and ‘completes its geographic expansion’ in Latin America by entering Brazil, the only major market in the region where it was not yet present. Secil operates in eight countries with a cement production capacity of approximately 10Mt/yr. Its operations span cement, concrete, aggregates, construction solutions and circular economy initiatives. The company employs more than 2900 people and recorded €740m in sales over the past 12 months.

Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak has broken ground on its US$165m Mambong Clinker Line 2 project, an investment aimed at expanding cement production capacity to meet Sarawak’s growing infrastructure and industrial demand. The new line will increase clinker output from 0.9Mt/yr to 1.9Mt/yr and is scheduled to begin operations in mid-2027.

Group managing director Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib said the project will ensure a stable supply of high-quality cement to support Sarawak’s long-term development. “This project not only strengthens our production capabilities, but more importantly guarantees a reliable supply of quality cement to support Sarawak’s fast-growing infrastructure and economy,” he said.

The plant will incorporate a waste heat recovery system capable of generating about 6MW of ‘electrical’ energy and will feature dust filtration systems to reduce emissions. Sarawak Premier Abang Johari said the expansion reduces reliance on imports.