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Qatar National Cement’s profit up in second quarter 16 July 2015
Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company's net profit grew by 2% to US$66.6m for the financial quarter ending 30 June 2015, compared to US$65.3m in the same period of 2014, according to the Qatari news agency.
Ethiopia: After some delay and with construction of its original project still ongoing, Habesha Cement is reported to be considering an additional expansion project. The firm hired Waas international Consulting Firm (WICF) in June 2015 to conduct a study to change its market strategy and establish the need for further expansion projects even though the construction of its 1.3Mt/yr cement plant is not yet complete.
WICF, which previously worked on the feasibility study for the overall company, will decide on the need for expansion by looking at the current demand for cement in the country and will restructure Habesha's market strategy accordingly. "We found it necessary to conduct the study because we expect to launch production and join the market in the coming year," said Mesfin Abadi, chief executive director of Habesha Cement, who added that the company's initial market strategy dated from 2013 and did not provide adequate information on market trends past 2015.
Polish cement production up in June 2015 16 July 2015
Poland: Cement production in Poland increased by 4.1% year-on-year to 1.55Mt in June 2015, while sales were up by 7.2% to 1.59Mt, according to the country's Cement Producer Association. Production in the first half of the year was up by 2.1% year-on-year to 7.19Mt and first half sales have risen by 2.5% to 7.33Mt.
UAE: A report from Technavio suggests that cement exports from the UAE will decline in the four years to 2019 as a resurgence of building in the country takes hold.
The government will invest US$700bn over the next 15 years towards infrastructure development. As well as the Dubai EXPO 2020 and UAE National Vision 2021, major investments will be directed towards transport and power infrastructure projects, with the cement market forecast to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 7.56% in the period to 2019.
Vietnam on target with state-ownership re-definition 16 July 2015
Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction looks set to realize its target of allowing all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) at its helm to 'go public' at the end of 2015, according to Deputy Minister Le Quang Hung. He said, in a recent report, that seven out of 16 corporations and holding companies under the ministry have undergone equitisation and the remaining nine would go public between now and the end of 2015.
The SOEs subject to equitisation include Vietnam National Construction Consultant Corporation (VNCC), Building Materials Corporation No. 1 (FiCO) and Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM), among others.
A revised Enterprise Law, which took effect on 1 July 2015, says that SOEs are now defined as 100% owned by the state, instead of 51% or above as previously. Therefore, in addition to the construction ministry, the new law also helps other ministries complete restructuring and equitisation plans for SOEs under their respective umbrellas.