Merry Christmas and Happy New Year / Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo / Chuc Mung Giang Sinh / Colo sana wintom tiebeen / I'D Mubarak ous Sana Saida / Froehliche Weihnachten und ein gluckliches Neues Jahr / Felices navidaes y prósperu añu nuevu

AFRICA: TOGO: Les mines et l’énergie, des secteurs clés de l’économie en pleine restructuration

Considérés comme des leviers de l’économie nationale, les secteurs des mines et de l’énergie sont en pleine restructuration ces dernières années, suite à l’élaboration de différentes politiques nationales.

Dans le secteur de l’énergie, d’immenses efforts sont déployés pour venir à bout du délestage qui avait plongé en 1998, l’économie de plusieurs pays de la sous-région dont celle du Togo dans le gouffre.

"Notre objectif est d’assurer une stabilité énergétique, à la fois au niveau des ménages et au niveau industriel et commercial. Il est également de notre ambition de réduire notre dépendance extérieure tout en consolidant les approches régionales", avait déclaré en juin dernier le Premier ministre Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo lors de la présentation de son programme d’action devant les députés.

Les autorités togolaises ont renforcé les actions entreprises depuis 2008 pour développer l’offre énergétique et augmenter le taux d’accès des populations à l’énergie, singulièrement en milieu rural, et étendre l’éclairage public à Lomé et dans les grandes villes du pays. 

En Octobre dernier une centrale thermique de 100 MW de ContourGlobal, a été mis en service et permettra au Togo de disposer de 70% de sa consommation sur son territoire, soit 130 MW (avec les 20 MW de la turbine à gaz de la CEB et les 20 MW de Nangbéto) et ainsi dépendre moins de l’extérieur.

Le projet de renforcement et d’extension du réseau de la ville de Lomé ainsi que le projet d’électrification rurale ont démarré, alors que celui d’électrification transfrontalière avec la contribution des compagnies électrique du Togo et du Ghana s’achèvera au plus tard en 2011, et permettra ainsi à 50.000 nouveaux abonnés et à une centaine de localités d’être reliés aux réseaux électriques. Les efforts seront poursuivis au cours des cinq ans à venir pour doubler ces raccordements.

Le gouvernement entend mettre en place un fonds pour l’électrification du monde rural.

Cette mesure dont l’échéance est fixée pour fin décembre 2010 n’a pas encore connu un début d’exécution car le financement n’est pas encore bouclé en vue de l’étude de faisabilité.

Sur le plan régional, le gouvernement s’investit pour le démarrage effectif du projet d’interconnexion 330kV entre le Nigeria, le Bénin, le Togo et le Ghana en 2012.

Le projet permettra de disposer d’un réseau puissant facilitant les transits d’énergie, l’optimisation des moyens de production des quatre pays précités ainsi que de secours mutuel en cas de difficulté.

Par ailleurs le gouvernement s’est engagé à accélérer, en concertation avec les autorités béninoises, le processus de construction du barrage hydroélectrique d’Adjarala qui devrait couvrir d’une manière excédentaire les besoins énergétiques des deux pays.

Tous ces travaux de renforcement devront efficacement contribuer à la relance de l’économie nationale, en accompagnant notamment la relance du secteur des phosphates, le démarrage de la production de trois nouvelles sociétés dans le secteur des mines et l’extension du Port Autonome de Lomé.

Privée d’aide substantielle des bailleurs de fonds pendant près de quinze années, l’économie togolaise se redresse très lentement.

L’Union Européenne et les principaux partenaires bilatéraux avaient suspendu leur coopération avec le Togo en 1993 pour «déficit démocratique». Suite aux efforts déployés par le gouvernement togolais dans le domaine du respect des droits de l’homme, tous ces partenaires ont renoué avec le décembre 2007.

Les prévisions macroéconomiques affichent des taux de croissance économique réelle de 3,4% et d’inflation de 2,1% pour le Togo pour l’année 2010, selon le ministère des finances.

L’inflation s’est située à 2,1% à fin juin 2010, alors qu’elle était de 1,9% pour toute l’année 2009 et de 8,7% en 2008", affichent les statistiques.

Outre l’énergie, les mines constituent également l’une des grandes priorités de l’Etat.

Ces dernières années, des réorganisations en profondeurs ont été opérées dans ce secteur, notamment les phosphates et le clinker.

Vital pour l'économie togolaise, le secteur du phosphate - premier produit d'exportation du Togo avec 40% des recettes - est en cours de redressement depuis environ 3 ans.

La production s'est effondrée ces dernières années, passant de plus de 5 millions de tonnes en 1997 à environ 800.000 en 2007. Entre 2008 et 2009, la production annuelle tournait autour de 800.000 et 900.000 tonnes.

Quatrième producteur mondial de phosphate, le Togo entend investir 80 milliards de F.CFA dans ce secteur pour le renouvellement de l'outil de production, le renforcement des capacités humaines à tous les niveaux, une meilleure négociation des contrats à terme et une écoute plus attentive des préoccupations des collectivités locales.

Toutes ces actions permettront de porter la production de 1,6 millions tonnes en 2011 à 2,5 millions de tonnes en 2012 et 3 millions tonnes en 2013. 

S’agissant du clinker, le Togo entend tirer meilleur profit de la récente réorganisation de la filière par l’octroi d’un 2ème permis d’exploitation à CIMTOGO, et l’extension du permis d’exploitation de WACEM, et rendre plus disponible le ciment et à un prix attractif.

Au plus tard fin 2012, CIMTOGO démarrera une usine de production de clinker d’une capacité 1,5 million tonnes par an. Une société de production de ciment est en cours d’installation et devra démarrer son exploitation en moins d’un an avec une production annuelle de 500.000 tonnes.

VIETNAM: Vietnam exports to top $71 bln

VietNamNet Bridge - Exports are likely to be worth $71 billion this year, a 23 percent year-on-year rise, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Planning Department said.

 

Thirteen of 35 export items saw prices increase -- cashew was up 21 percent; tea, 11 percent; pepper, 40 percent; rice, 4.8 percent; and rubber, 81 percent.

Among key items, apparel exports were worth $10 billion, rice shipments, nearly $3 billion, seafood, around $4.5 billion, and wood and wooden products, $3 billion.

Iron and steel, chemicals, rubber, vehicles, and cashew exports were all sharply up while that of crude oil tumbled nearly 23 percent.

Statistics from customs show that in the first 11 months exports were worth $64.5 billion, 25 percent up from the same period last year.

Sixteen items had posted an export value of more than $1 billion, two more than last year.

Exports are expected to grow 10 percent in 2011to $78 billion, the ministry said.

Trade deficit down

This year the trade deficit is estimated at $12 billion, down $1 billion from last year and the lowest in the last four years.

Imports in the first 11 months were cost over $75.5 billion, 20.7 percent up year on year.

By the end of November the trade gap was around $11 billion after imports rose for the third straight month to $7.94 billion, the highest ever monthly figure.

Import of certain items soared, especially that of gemstones and precious metals -- which rose 155.5 percent to $244.4 million after the government lifted a ban on gold import -- fertilizers, insecticides, tobacco, and liquefied petroleum gas.

With imports higher than exports, the trade gap persisted for a fourth month, exceeding $1 billion in the last two months.

Among 43 items imported, there was a fall in value in six, including clinker (down 33 percent) complete-built cars and motorbikes, petroleum products, and fertilizers (from 10 percent to above 20 percent).

Some items saw a strong rise, including machinery and equipments, feedstock like plastic and materials for the garment and textile industry.

Import of goods categorized as essential commodities by the ministry was worth $61.2 million, a year-on-year rise of 18.5 percent and accounting for 81.7 percent of total imports, while those categorized as “unnecessary and need to be controlled or limited” rose to $4 billion and $5.4 billion, up 20.9 percent and 22.9 percent.

Thus around $10 billion was spent this year for importing luxury goods, the ministry said.

PARAGUAY: Falta de cemento se debe al auge de la construcción, argumentan

Claudio Montiel, gerente de la Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC), expresó que la falta de cemento se debe al auge en la construcción.

“Se disparó la demanda de cemento, estamos viviendo un auge en la construcción con un crecimiento de aproximadamente 10%. A principios de año, estimamos 5 a 7% cuando se disparó”, expresó a la 650 AM el funcionario.

El mismo expresó que Paraguay no es el único que sufre la falta de cemento; la misma situación vive Brasil con el Mundial 2014 sobre sus espaldas, también Chile por la reconstrucción luego del terremoto.

Uruguay, Bolivia y Argentina se suman a los países afectados por la falta de cemento. 

“Brasil, porque tiene el Mundial en el 2014, está importando y realizando varias plantas de cemento; lo mismo ocurre en Uruguay y Argentina. Chile, por el terremoto, está importando más cemento de África y Europa, entonces lo mismo ocurre con Bolivia, que importa cemento y Argentina que importa clínker”, aseguró.

Montiel expresó que el horno del INC produce 2.000 toneladas de clínker, lo que permite a las plantas de Villeta y Vallemí producir entre 60.000 y 70.000 bolsas diarias.

“Tenemos un déficit y como medida hemos hecho un contrato con una empresa de la Argentina para el suministro de 50.000 toneladas de clínker y hasta ahora no han podido pasar lo acordado justamente por la demanda de cemento a Chile y de clínker a Bolivia”, indicó.

BOLIVIA: Prevén escasez de cemento para el segundo semestre de 2011

El ministro de Obras Públicas, Walter Delgadillo, informó ayer que durante el segundo semestre de 2011 la demanda de cemento se incrementará por encima de la capacidad productiva de las industrias cementeras. 

“De enero a junio no vamos a tener problemas, pero tenemos que tomar previsiones para el resto del año, incluso porque en esos meses el crecimiento del uso del cemento va a exigir una mayor demanda que la capacidad de producción”, advirtió. 

Delgadillo explicó que para evitar la escasez del principal insumo para la construcción se estima importar 180 mil toneladas de clinker porque el problema de la oferta no radica en las industrias, sino en la materia prima. 

Según la proyección del Gobierno, se trabajará con las industrias cementeras para afrontar esta situación. La demanda de cemento se incrementa cada año a un promedio de 10%. Este año varias obras se paralizaron por falta de cemento. /ANF

CHILE: Gasco rematará el martes el 40,8% de Cementos Polpaico

El próximo martes será el día en que se rematará el 40,78% de la propiedad que Gasco tiene de Cementos Polpaico.

Según informo el agente asesor y colocador, Banchile Inversiones, las órdenes se recibirán a partir de hoy hasta el 27 de diciembre, con un precio mínimo reservado.

Así, la corredora colocará en el mercado un total de 7.306.449 acciones de la compañía.

Producto de la operación se estima que Gasco recaude unos US$ 138 millones, monto que como se informó destinará a financiar proyectos en Chile y el exterior.

Durante la mañana de hoy, la acción de Polpaico no registra variaciones en su precio, ubicándose en los $ 8.100. En el año acumula una rentabilidad de 18,81%.

TURKEY: Free trade agreement with Turkey

Jordan’s free trade agreement with Turkey will come into effect as of next month. The agreement recognised the fact that the two countries are not on the same footing, therefore the Jordanian products will be allowed to enter the Turkish market tax exempt, while the Turkish products imported by Jordan will enjoy the tax exemption on gradual basis and will not reach full exemption until 2018.

As a matter of principle, trade between any two countries is beneficial to both. It encourages industrial specialisation and large-scale production. Producers in both countries will not confine themselves to their local market. They will look further and try to reach external market as well.

The absence of equality between the two countries when it comes to labour wages, industries’ subsidies, exports incentives and difference on exchange render the graduation stipulated in the agreement hardly enough to secure balanced and fair exchange of products between the two countries.

Yes, Turkey will grant full exemption to the Jordanian products entering Turkey.

This is good. The problem is that there are no Jordanian products which are ready to take advantage of this. If such products exist, they will not be able to compete with the Turkish products’ prices and/or quality.

Under the circumstances, it is very likely that trade between Jordan and Turkey will be in one direction. Jordan will play the role of importer and Turkey will be the exporter.

It is only fair to say that this state of affairs does not apply only to Turkey; Jordan did not hesitate to enter into sweeping free trade agreements with Gulf countries, which either do not impose taxes on imports or charge a symbolic tax, but there is almost nothing to exempt.

On the contrary, customs taxes in Jordan form a major source of revenue for the budget. Tax exemption in this case is very costly indeed, and not reciprocal.

In this respect, one should take into account that the Saudi or Emiratie producer enjoys cheap fuel, electricity and water, while the Jordanian producer has to pay more than the world prices for such industrial inputs.

How can competition between the two sides be fair under such situation?

One of the results of this state of affairs is the establishment in Jordan of a Saudi cement company with no factories, which imports clinker from Saudi Arabia at less than 50 per cent of the cost of producing this commodity in Jordan.

No wonder the Saudi local company was able in no time to expel Jordan’s cement factories from the market that produce their own clinker using fuel and energy at high prices.

The government hesitated and finally failed to act to protect local cement companies from unfair competition.

The share price of the Jordan Cement Factories Company, for example, dropped from JD12 to JD4. This is only one example, but it applies, at various degrees, to most local industries.

Jordan dared enter into free trade agreements with some advanced and industrialised countries like the United States and the European Union, but the results were extremely bad. The value of European Union’s exports to Jordan is 15 times the value of Jordanian exports to the EU.

Had it not been for the Qualifying Industrial Zones, trade with America would have been similar to that with the EU, perhaps even worse.

I am a supporter of opening up the Jordanian market to the world, provided, of course, that the exchange of goods and services is fair. Trade between two countries should be balanced or near balanced. Subsidised products, on the other hand, should not be allowed to enter the Jordanian market unless they pay a big enough tax to absorb the subsidy.

AFRICA: NIGERIA: Dangote moves to re-brand Nigeria with cement

The Dangote Group has expressed its readiness to make Nigeria a recognised nation in the global cement market–post 2016, in much the same way as Nigeria is a recognised oil and gas producer in the world.

The President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who stated this in Lagos at the annual dinner of the Lagos Business School (LBS) Breakfast Club, said it was time Nigeria started to look away from oil and gas and began to develop other viable sectors of the economy such as the cement industry.

“Given the abundance of the basic raw material for cement in Nigeria (21 out of 36 states), the Federal Government needs to consistently follow a set of policies deliberately designed to maximise the advantage of this endowment,” he said.

According to him, the Dangote Group is committed to fully meeting national cement demand by ramping up its domestic production capacity to 20 million metric tonnes per annum within the next 12 months.

Noting that the envisaged production target would exceed local demand, which falls below global average, he added that the group was working towards ensuring that Nigeria became a net cement exporting nation by 2011.

He expressed the desire of the group to list on a major international bourse in 2011, in line with its global aspirations, saying that the listing of Dangote Cement Plc on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) recently, was a step towards this direction.

He said the merger between Dangote Cement Plc and Benue Cement Company Plc (BCC), which gave rise to the listing of the emergent company, Dangote Cement Plc on the Exchange, was designed to promote economies of scale and enhance operational efficiency.

He also restated Dangote Cement’s target of becoming one of the top 15 global cement producers in 2015, by which time it envisages a total capacity of 46 million metric tonnes in all its pan-African operations.

Dangote Cement currently accounts for more than 50 percent of the market in Nigeria and is expanding its plants across the country to match and surpass increasing local demand.

The group is also trying to consolidate its cement assets in other African countries as part of its strategy to become a major global player.

Already, the group has a cement plant in Ghana, which has commenced production, while it signed a $400 million (N60 billion) Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) with the government of Zambia recently, to enable it to establish a cement plant in that country.

It is expected that the 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum cement plant would come on stream by 2013.

The group also recently, increased its stake in South Africa’s Sephaku Cement from 19 percent to 64 percent in a deal valued at R779 million-the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) by an African company in South Africa.

RAK: Investors pour into RAK Cement stock

Investors looking to buy into cheaper stocks boosted Ras Al Khaimah Cement in trading yesterday, as its shares rose for the first time in a week. RAK Cement is trading at a "very much cheaper" price than its book value of Dh1.65, said Hettish Karmani, a senior analyst at Global Investment House in Kuwait.

The company gained 1.1 per cent to 86 fils and was the second-most actively traded stock on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) General Index, with more than 17 million shares changing hands.

"The trigger… is that it is trading well below its book value, because from a financial perspective it is not as impressive as last year," said Mr Karmani. The company is expected to benefit from Qatar's spending spree on its infrastructure after it won the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and from neighbouring Oman's cement deficit.

"It was a spontaneous event for the shares, all of a sudden the stock started getting traded heavily by the investors on the floor," said Sobhi Asim, a trader at the ADX.

"Within the UAE cement universe, RAK Cement remains our preferred stock," said Ankur Agarwal, an analyst at Nomura Securities in Dubai. "Compared with other peer firms, their management has remained conservative and they stay clear from investing in non-industrial sectors."

It is the season, Mr Agarwal said, to purchase shares of companies in anticipation of strong dividends. Last year, the cement firm provided a 10 fils dividend a share, which gave investors a yield higher than 10 per cent. "Shareholders in this region demand dividends and are more excited about it here than in places like Europe," Mr Agarwal said. Nomura anticipates a slimmer dividend this year, of 6 fils a share, providing a yield of 7 per cent, due to overcapacity in the sector. The company is expected to announce the dividend in March.

IRAQ: Sinoma International Wins $112.5M Iraqi Contract

Sinoma (Suzhou) Construction, a subsidiary of Sinoma International Engineering (600970), won a $112.5 million contract from Iraqi company, MASS IRAQ to build a cement production line in Iraq, reports yicai.com, citing a company filing.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 24.5 months from the signing of the contact.

Except for the down payment of $20 million, both parties will equally share the foreign exchange rate risk of the $92.5 million portion of the contract. The maximum compensation amount is five percent of the contract value.

RUSIA: The construction of Lafarge's new cement plant in Kaluga started

Lafarge Russia invests 300 millions of Rubles into environment protection in the Uralcement plant of Korkino, Chelyabinsk region. In order to decrease the dust emissions of its Korkino plant in the Chelyabinsk region, Lafarge replaces the electro filters of its two most important rotary kilns. The new dust filters allow decreasing the dust emissions at the stack by more than 10 times and reach at least current European regulations.

The construction of Lafarge's new project, a cement plant at Ferzikovo in Kaluga Region has started. This is the first project of Lafarge Russia and its business partner EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) which supports Lafarge's growth in Russia.

The construction of Lafarge's new project, a cement plant at Ferzikovo in Kaluga Region has started. This is the first project of Lafarge Russia and its business partner EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) which supports Lafarge's growth in Russia.

The new plant will have a production capacity of two million tons a year. This greenfield project will represent a breakthrough in Russia in terms of energy efficiency, safety performance and minimised environmental impact. The carbon footprint per ton of cement produced will as a result be cut by 31 per cent and energy consumption will be halved from current levels. Lafarge also plans to make use of renewable energy sources at this plant.

The cement production will start in 2014

The leveling, plant site roads works and temporary infrastructure on the field will be completed before end of 2010. The concrete & steel construction is expected to be completed before end of 2011. Also the mechanical erection will start in last quarter of 2011. The plant is expected to start producing cement in the first half of 2014.

Alex de Valukhoff, GM of Lafarge Cement Russia stated: "Russia is an important country in the Group's agenda. This new greenfield project shows our strong confidence in the potential and future of the country. We are glad to contribute to the development of the cement sector and to the economical development of the regions where we are present. The Kaluga region has been selected for its proximity to the market, but also in reason of the significant involvement of its Governor, Anatoly Artamonov, and his administration.

For our new projects a pool of Russian speaking technical managers is being trained in the different dry technology plants the Group operates in the European Union. We already have a Kaluga team in our head office."

Investments in current plants ongoing

Lafarge and EBRD will subsequently work on the next steps in the investment program, as well as on further enhancement of existing plants in Voskresensk, 120 km southeast of Moscow, and Korkino, 40 km south of Chelyabinsk in the Urals industrial heartland of Russia. (EBRD has since 2006 invested €190 million Euros in the equity of Lafarge Vostok SAS, the company which owns 100 percent of Lafarge Cement Russia.)

A program aimed at achieving an annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at the Voskresensk and Korkino plants equivalent to up to 200,000 tons of CO2, as measured in terms of constant cement output (2008), has already been launched. This involves, amongst others, the commissioning of new filters at both plants to improve their environmental performance.