Vietnam: Vietnam Cement Corporation (Vicem) has set a target of achieving average annual growth of around 10% in domestic cement consumption over the 2026-2030 period, as part of a wider strategy to improve efficiency and strengthen competitiveness. Vicem aims to maintain its ‘core position’ in the national cement sector in line with the building materials development strategy for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050. Based on its consumption growth targets, the group expects its domestic market share to reach 28%-30% by 2030.

During the 2021–2025 period, Vicem recorded combined cement and clinker consumption of 129Mt and revenues of US$6.28bn. For 2026, the corporation expects domestic cement consumption to reach 22.7Mt, supported by ‘stronger’ public investment, particularly in major infrastructure projects.

India: Traffic on the Rourkela-Sambalpur Biju Expressway in Odisha, was disrupted for 12hr on 19 January 2026 as protestors staged a series of blockades. Organised under the aegis of the Forum for Gram Sabha Committee, Rajgangpur (FGSCR), protestors said that they were protesting the acquisition of tribal lands by Dalmia Cement, which will form part of a quarry expansion permitted in December 2025. FGSCR president Bibol Toppo alleged that the land acquisition was carried out illegally.

106 hectares of land belonging to around 450 families in Rajgangpur and Kutra blocks were transferred to the company. Dalmia Cement reportedly began to extract overburden from 15 hectares of land, but intense protests had halted works.

Philippines: Philcement Corporation, which is 51% owned by Phinma Corporation, has announced that Japan’s Sumitomo Osaka Cement has bought a 15% stake in Philcement. The remittance was received on 16 January 2026 following the signing of a share subscription agreement in September 2025.

Phinma said the transaction was aligned with Philcement's strategy and commitment to grow its manufacturing operations and provide Filipino consumers with reliable, high-quality supply of cement products under its legacy brand, Union Cement.

Philcement was established in 2017 by Phinma as its re-entry vehicle into the cement business. The unit operates cement manufacturing facilities across Bataan, Pampanga, Zamboanga del Norte and Davao. Sumitomo Osaka Cement’s investment is expected to strengthen Philcement's manufacturing operations and expand its footprint in the Philippine cement market.

Kenya: The Treasury has granted the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) a four-year moratorium on the repayment of a US$15m loan borrowed in 1990, laying bare the firm’s financial difficulties. EAPCC borrowed the money in Japanese Yen from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (JICA) in March 1990 but defaulted in 2016 after making only partial payments. This forced the government to step in and clear the loan on its behalf. The government cleared the company’s loan with JICA in March 2020.

New details now reveal that Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi entered an agreement with the company in July 2025, pushing forward repayment dates for the outstanding loan to start in September 2029. The government, through the National Treasury, has since entered into an agreement with the company setting out the terms and conditions for the loan repayment.

The agreements were entered into when the government was the controlling shareholder of EAPCC. However, the company got a new majority owner in December 2025 when Kalahari Cement, part of Tanzania’s Amsons Group, acquired a 68.7% stake after multiple transactions.