Weekly cement market update

Cementos Progreso completes takeover of Cemento Interoceánico. The company has finalized the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Cemento Interoceánico. The company was advised by legal firms Fabrega, Molino & Mulino, while Morgan & Morgan served as advisers to Cemento Interoceánico. Cementos Progreso mostly conducts business in Guatemala, and focuses in the manufacture and distribution of several materials for construction, including cement, concrete, lime, and others.

South Africa's cement industry impacted by cheaper imports. Cement industry officials in South Africa said that cheap imports from countries such as China, Vietnam and Pakistan are severely undermining domestic manufacturers. ÔÇ£In an industry already in the grips of a severe downturn owing to the decline in infrastructure development, not only are these imports negatively impacting the competitiveness of our local manufacturers, but independent studies have shown the quality of these international products to be inferior," said Morag Evans, the chief executive of Databuild, a knowledge hub for the construction and related industries. "Allowing sub-standard products to be released into the market is unacceptable, as the long-term health, safety and environmental implications could be severe, to say the least," said Evans. "Consequently, government should urgently consider imposing stricter cement standards, while cement producers need to continue educating users on the importance of using cement that has been certified as compliant with technical regulations.ÔÇØ "South Africa has numerous cement-producing plants which are more than capable of keeping up with local demand," said Evans.

Brazil's cement sales grow in 2019. Cement sales in Brazil in December totaled 4 million tons, a 1.6% increase over the same month of 2018, according to the National Cement Industry Union (SNIC). With this result, the sector ends 2019 with a total of 54.5 million tons of cement sold, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year. It is the first positive result since 2014. For Paulo Camillo Penna, president of SNIC, the improvement in the macroeconomic environment and the resumption of the real estate market were the main catalysts for this growth. ÔÇ£FGV's construction confidence index has been growing since June and reached, in December, the highest level since 2014, signaling sustainable growth in the sector,ÔÇØ says Penna. Despite the positive result, the sector has accumulated four consecutive years of decline and still operates with idle capacity of approximately 45%. For 2020, growth is expected to be close to 2019. ÔÇ£The crisis that started in 2015 was strong, the industry lost more than 25% of production and more than 20 units were closed in the period. Therefore, the recovery will be gradual and will depend on the maintenance of real estate growth, favorable macroeconomic environment and the resumption of infrastructure investmentsÔÇØ, analyzed Paulo Camillo.

Spain: Cosmos seeks to replace petcoke as fuel in cement production. The country's Ministry of Science and Innovation has confirmed that CosmosÔÇÖ plant in Toral de los VadosÔÇÖ use of tires as a fuel wonÔÇÖt have a higher environmental impact. The company has decided to partially use tires in replacement for petcoke, but it is currently seeking a permission from the local authorities to make the official switch. Cementos Cosmos is confident that the use of tires in cement production will allow it to become ÔÇ£a more sustainable factory by reducing our carbon footprint, moderating our energy bill and being in line with the principle of circular economy by turning a waste into resource that has not been able to be given a second utility. In addition, we will reduce the consumption of a fossil fuel such as petroleum coke.ÔÇØ

Dangote Cement eyes expansion into C├┤te dÔÇÖIvoire. The Nigerian cement producer is looking to set up a new cement plant in C├┤te dÔÇÖIvoire, which would require an investment of over XOF 150 billion. The new plant is expected to be set up in the new PK 24 industrial zone near the town of Attingui├®, 30 km of Abidjan, and in an area of around 50 hectares. The facility will operate similarly to its Ibese plant in Nigeria, which produces around 44 million tons of cement per year, which could lead to a drop in the cost of cement in the country at a time when many infrastructure projects are opening up.

HeidelbergCement investing in Togo subsidiary. The group is investing USD 30 million to expand CIMTOGO, its cement producing subsidiary in Togo. Through the investment, the group is aiming to increase the grinding capacity of its Lom├® plant by more than one million tons per year. The country representative of HeidelbergCement group said: "With this investment, the HeidelbergCement group believes in the prospects of the Togolese economy and continues to make its contribution to its development with the transformation of national resources within the framework of the National Development Plan".

Cement capacity in India to surpass half a billion tons in 2020. India's total installed cement capacity is expected to cross half a billion tons per year in 2020, as several companies, including UltraTech, JK Cement, Dalmia Bharat and others are close to adding 23 million tons per annum of production capacity. The current installed capacity is around 485 million tons per annum, and will reach 508 million tons per annum in 2020, with JK Cement adding 4.2 million tons per annum, UltraTech increasing its total by four million tons per annum, and Dalmia Bharat growing by 3.5 million tons per annum. Meanwhile, Ramco Cement will add 2.1 million tons per annum, while Sanghi Industries and Star Cement are expected to commission 2 million tons per annum of additional capacity each, while the remaining 5.2 million tons of capacity will be added by Birla, Wonder Cement and Ambuja Cement. ÔÇ£The additions have to be looked into from a long term perspective and demand is expected to improve this calendar year. There is going to be enough opportunity for cement companies to cater to the growing demand in the future and so, capacities will have to be put in place priorÔÇØ, said H M Bangur, managing director at Shree Cement.

Saudi Cement acquires stake in United Cement. The cement manufacturer has acquired the stake of Esterad Investment in United Cement for BHD 2.3 million. ÔÇ£The deal is expected to help boost United Cement's operating efficiency and growth rates,ÔÇØ stated Esterad Vice Chairman Abdulrahman Jamsheer. Before the recent sale deal, Saudi Cement owned a stake of 36 percent in the Bahrain-based company.

US scientists develop ÔÇ£living cementÔÇØ. Researchers in the United States have created a ÔÇ£living cementÔÇØ, which mixes sand and bacteria in a self-reproducing construction material, which is also able to absorb carbon dioxide and maintain its resistance. ÔÇØWe already use biological materials in buildings, such as wood, but these materials are not alive," said researcher Will Srubar of the University of Colorado, one of the authors of the study. Scrubar expects that the material will allow buildings to repair their own cracks, absorb toxins from the air or even glow in the dark. The material uses cyanobacteria Synechococcus, green microbes that can absorb carbon dioxide to grow and produce calcium carbonate, with colonies of this bacteria being injected into a sand and gelatin solution, which the calcium carbonate eventually solidifies and forms a brick. If this is cut in half, they can make each half grow until there is a new brick. "Nature can find a way to do many things intelligently and effectively, we just need to pay more attention," he said, adding that "in harsh environments, these materials would perform especially well because they use sunlight to grow and need little outer material".

Morocco's cement sales improve mildly in 2019. Sales volumes of cement in Morocco during 2019 increased by 1.82 percent from 2018, at a total of 13.52 million tons. In December, sales fell by 3.74 percent from the equivalent month of 2018, to 1.17 million tons. Around 2.31 million tons of cement shipped throughout the year was used for the production of ready-mix concrete, a rise of 12.75 percent from the previous year. Deliveries to the building segment reached 689,276 tons in the year, a rise of 20.7 percent year-on-year, while deliveries to infrastructure declined significantly.