Vietnam: An Giang Province has granted investment policy approvals and investment certificates to 19 ventures with a total investment of U$2.58bn. The event took place as part of a conference to announce An Giang's Master Plan and Investment Promotion, according to Viet Nam News.

Alongside real estate and tourism projects are industrial investments, which include a US$223m cement plant to be built by Ha Tien Kien Giang Cement, part of Tan A Dai Thanh Group, in Ha Tien Kien Giang. Thailand's Siam City Cement has separately been granted permission to develop the Hon Chong cement plant in the town of the same name. This project is reportedly valued at US$420m. Permission was also granted for the development of a US$60m solar power plant by Sao Mai Group.

Ho Van Mung, Chair of the An Giang Province’s People's Committee, said “An Giang considers the success of businesses as the success of the province. The effectiveness of investors is the driving force for local growth. An Giang is committed to supporting and creating the most favourable conditions regarding administrative procedures, land, site clearance, meeting human resource needs, and ensuring absolute security and safety of assets.”

Ireland: A consortium including Cairn, Ecocem, Kilsaran and University College Dublin has secured €50,000 from Construct Innovate, Ireland's national Construction Technology Centre, to validate low-carbon cement technology. The project will reportedly demonstrate Ecocem’s ACT cement technology in Ireland for the first time at full scale. Ecocem said that ACT emits up to 70% less CO₂ than conventional cement. The company is building a €50m ACT production plant in Dunkirk, France, which is due to start commercial operations in late 2026. The plant is part of a wider €220m investment programme by the company. The funding won will go towards a full-scale demonstration project and an independent technical assessment at UCD. Eceocem said that the outcome will provide Cairn with proof of ‘buildability’ and CO₂ reduction, Ecocem with the validation of its technology, and Kilsaran with a new low-carbon product stream.

John Reddy, Director of Concrete Technology Deployment at Ecocem, said “Having already been successfully deployed in markets such as the UK and France, we are delighted to bring this innovation to Ireland and to see it independently validated in a real-world setting. This milestone reinforces our confidence in ACT as a scalable solution to support a rapid and cost-effective transition to low-carbon construction.”

France: Former Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont and his deputy Christian Herrault, currently in a Paris prison following their convictions for offences relating to payments to terrorist groups by Lafarge Syria in the 2010s, have appealed for release, pending a retrial. A decision on whether they can be released will be made on 26 May 2026, according to France 24.

Due to their appeals, the detention of Lafont and Herrault now falls under the criteria for pretrial detention, which differ from those for a warrant of committal. Appearing via video conference from La Santé prison, Lafont denied that he was a flight risk, despite his considerable financial assets. His lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, denounced what she called the ‘particularly shocking, striking and violent’ decision against her client, who reportedly went to prison ‘with nothing, without money, without a toothbrush.’
If they are released, Lafont and Herrault will be banned from speaking to each other.

India: HeidelbergCement India has received regulatory approval to build a new cement blending and grinding plant in Madhya Pradesh.

The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board granted consent for the project on 17 May 2026. The plant will be located at Dongaliya village in Khandwa district and will use fly ash in its production under long-term supply agreements.