NIGERIA: Cement’s 300% more expensive

Stakeholders in the cement industry have called on the Federal Government to take steps to crash cement price said to be about 300 per cent above what obtains in countries like Egypt, China, Taiwan, India, Japan, Norway, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq.

In a letter addressed to the Presidency and made available to newsmen, the President, Cement Producers Association of Nigeria (CPAN), who is also a member of Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. David Iweta, said the price of cement in countries that have attained sufficiency in production, like Nigeria, was about N500.00 per 50kg bag.

Iweta said the international best practice for cement manufacturing is for investors to earn IRR (internal rate of return) in the region of 25 per cent but experience has shown that Nigerian cement investors are earning over 150 per cent IRR in cement investment such that investors recoup their investment within two years of operation.

According to him, local cement manufacturers have constantly declared annual profit “By this token, all such local manufacturers claiming large investment have since recovered their investments. It is regrettable that the price of the product is hovering between N1,800 and N2,000 per bag.

“We strongly recommend that Mr. President should revisit this strategy by considering granting more licenses and abolish the levy of 20 per cent, with 15 per cent duty but retain the five per cent duty and five per cent VAT on imported cement.

“This will force the local cement manufacturers that are hiding under the high cost of imported cement, which attract 45 per cent extra cost comprising duty, levy, NPA, NIMASA, in addition to cost of freight in the region of $50.00 per metric tonne. The total extra cost paid on imported cement is in the region of N900.00 per bag, stressing that imported cement will sell for N1,000 per 50kg bag if the Federal Government retains duty and VAT at five per cent each on imported cement.

“The local manufacturers are still in a better position to make N500.00 profit per bag owing to the fact that they make use of free local limestone and could sell cement for N500.00 per 50kg bag,” Iweta said.

He said the housing deficit in Nigeria is estimated at 17 million, adding that housing like agriculture is a major provider of labour in many economies. He said if the Federal Government is committed to filling the gap in the housing sector, it is capable of providing employment for 34 million Nigerians.

“The roadblock that will make this project and target to fail is the ever rising price of cement in Nigeria, which claims to have attained self-sufficiency in cement production even though it is classified as a country with the highest price of cement in the world,” he said.

CANADA: Firm innovates concrete production with carbon capture

Carbon dioxide emissions, along with other greenhouse gases, is a contributor to global warming, but one company has found a way to use it in concrete production such that it now contributes to carbon reduction instead.

CarbonCure Technologies, a clean-tech company based in Halifax Nova Scotia in Canada, has devised a way to inject carbon dioxide into the production of concrete blocks. According to the firm, this not only helps cement and concrete manufacturers to create a significantly green building material, but it also addresses the wider concern of global emissions reduction.

The firm, which started to attract attention in 2012, uses the concept of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in its CarbonCure system. The patent-pending technology takes carbon dioxide waste, such as those from large emitters like refineries and fertilizer plants, and mixes it into the concrete during the production phase. The chemical reaction that happens, the firm explains, is a reversal of the process used to make cement, a key ingredient in concrete.

Cement represents about five per cent of anthropogenic global carbon dioxide emissions, according to a 2009 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

As a result, concrete manufacturers that have been retrofitted with this technology are able to produce concrete blocks that are stronger, cheaper and green, said Niven to The Financial Post. “It’s that triple-win that makes it really attractive to producers,” he added.“If you look at concrete, cement starts off as CaCO3 [or solid limestone], it’s heated in cement kilns, and this releases one molecule of CO2 for every molecule of lime. We’re reversing that reaction – we’re providing a supplementary curing reaction,” said Robert Niven, founder of CarbonCure Technologies in recent report by environmental website TreeHugger.

The firms are also able to manufacture the construction material using less energy, while those in the building industry who opt to use it can receive credits in green building certification programs like LEED, note CarbonCure.

However, the biggest advantage of the technology, the company points out, is that “100,000 grey blocks absorb the same amount of CO2 as 92 full grown trees will absorb in a year”. They added that more carbon dioxide is captured than is emitted during the manufacture and transport of these CarbonCure blocks, reducing emissions by up to 20 per cent. 

Carbon capture and storage, also referred to as carbon sequestration, was highlighted in the latest Working Group III report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which focused on climate change mitigation across different emissions scenarios. CCS was mentioned alongside the need to increase deployment of renewable energy and bioenergy.

Niven said the amount of emissions reduction per building may vary depending on the quantity of blocks used, but the potential is there as three billion blocks are produced annually in North America alone. In addition, “the North American market for concrete blocks and bricks is projected to increase to 4.3 billion units per year by 2014,” Hilal El-Hassan and Yixin Shao noted in their study on “Carbon Storage through Concrete Block Carbonation Curing”.

But beyond this region, he has plans to enter the BRIC markets: Brazil, Russia, India and China. The company’s goal is to eventually have every concrete block and building in the world made with their technology, he said.

KENYA: Savannah to invest Sh17.3bn in clinker

SAVANNAH Cement, the country’s latest entrant in cement manufacturing, plans to invest $200 million (Sh17.3 billion) to develop a clinker production facility. Currently, most of the major cement companies depend on imported clinker which is a key component in the manufacture of cement.

In the manufacture of portland cement, clinkers are lumps or nodules, usually 3-25mm in diameter, produced by sintering limestone and alumino-silicate (clay) during the cement kiln stage.

Savannah cement board chairman Benson Ndeta, announced on Thursday that the company which currently has a production capacity of more than 1.5 million tonnes of cement annually will develop the clinker production unit to boots its market share.

Ndeta said the firm hopes to be a major competitor in the regional market in the supply of cement to Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, DRC and South Sudan after satisfying its local market with quality cement.

Ndeta was speaking when the company received the Kenya Bureau of Standards diamond mark of quality certification for its range of products at the company’s offices in Kitengela.

He said the certification now places Savannah Cement products high on the quality assurance table. According to the 2013 Economic Survey cement production for 2012 closed at an all-time high of 4.6 million tonnes up from 4.4 million tonnes recorded the previous year while consumption grew from 3.8 million tonnes to 3.9 million tonnes.

Savannah's managing director Ronald Ndegwa said the company had adopted some of the most advanced quality standards and product formulation benchmarks in the world for its products.

Kebs MD Charles Ongwae said the standards body has raised its market surveillance to guarantee consumer's get value for money on all products including those in the building and construction sector.

“We are putting on notice all traders selling substandard cement products or those passing off standards certification marks and have not yet received such marks genuinely,” added Ongwae.

ALGERIA: Investissements pour faire face à la pénurie de ciment

Suite à des années d’importantes dépenses publiques consacrées aux infrastructures, la vague de nouveaux investissements dont bénéficie la production algérienne de ciment devrait aider le pays à faire face à la demande croissante que connait ce matériau de construction.

Selon l’édition 2014 du rapport Global Cement Directory, la capacité de production de ciment de l’Algérie s’élève à 21 millions de tonnes par an (tpa), ce qui classe le pays parmi les 20 premiers producteurs de ciment dans le monde si l’on se réfère aux chiffres publiés par l’US Geological Survey, l’institut d’études géologiques des États-Unis. La demande dépasse toutefois la production nationale de 5 millions de tpa et le pays se voit dans l’obligation d’importer le déficit. En 2013, la valeur des importations de ciment s’établissait à environ 290 millions d’euros, soit une hausse de 26% par rapport aux chiffres de 2012.

À l’heure où le pays poursuit une politique d’investissement de grande ampleur dans les infrastructures et où le gouvernement s’emploie à lutter contre la pénurie de logements, la pression ne cesse de s’accentuer sur la consommation de ciment, qui enregistre une croissance annuelle de près de 5%. La décision de l’État l’an dernier de faire appel à des entrepreneurs étrangers afin de faire face à la pénurie de logements devrait encore contribuer davantage à la hausse de la demande. 

Extension des capacités des cimenteries publiques

Mais les importants investissements prévus, aussi bien par des entreprises algériennes que par des groupes étrangers, pour augmenter la capacité nationale de production de ciment, devraient permettre de venir à bout du déficit de ciment dans les années à venir. On peut citer notamment le cimentier public Groupe Industriel des Ciments d’Algérie (GICA), détenteur de douze cimenteries, qui a annoncé en mars son intention de faire passer sa capacité de production de 11,5 millions à 26 millions de tpa d’ici 2017, soit plus du double. Le projet comprend la mise en service de dix nouvelles lignes de production pour un investissement d’environ 150 milliards de dinars algériens (1,4 milliard d’euros). Quatre d’entre elles seront accueillies dans de nouvelles usines, parmi lesquelles une usine d’une capacité de 2 millions de tpa à l’est du pays, dans la wilaya d’Oum El Bouaghi, une station de production d’une capacité d’1 million de tpa dans la province de Bechar au sud-ouest du pays ainsi que deux autres usines à Relizane et à Tamanrasset. Quant aux six autres, il s’agit de nouvelles lignes dans des stations de production existantes.

En outre, les médias algériens ont rapporté en février que l’Entreprise Portuaire d’Annaba, entreprise publique, avait entamé des consultations au sujet de la construction d’une usine de ciment sur un bateau qui serait amarré dans le port d’Annaba sur la côte nord-est du pays. D’après les informations disponibles, l’usine serait dotée d’une capacité de production de 500 000 tpa et pourrait être livrée d’ici la fin de l’année.  

Des investissements privés en hausse

Les investisseurs privés et étrangers s’emploient également à faire grimper la capacité de production nationale. Cevital, un important conglomérat privé, envisage de pénétrer le marché avec la construction de cinq lignes de production de ciment réparties dans deux usines dans les provinces de Constantine et de Bouira, qui disposeraient d’une capacité combinée d’environ 10 millions de tpa.

En février, le cimentier sud-africain PPC a annoncé qu’il s’apprêtait à acquérir une participation de 49% dans Hodna Cement Company, une entreprise privée algérienne qui construit actuellement une cimenterie d’une capacité de 2 millions de tpa à Hodna, près de Sétif, et qu’il prendrait le contrôle de sa gestion. La livraison de l’usine, qui représente un investissement d’environ 250 millions d’euros, est prévue pour fin 2016. PPC a expliqué sa décision de faire son entrée sur le marché algérien en citant des facteurs tels que des coûts de production avantageux du fait de « prix du gaz abordables », un PIB relativement élevé pour l’Afrique, un bon réseau de transport et de logistique, et la forte probabilité d’une demande élevée due au déficit de logements, qu’il estime à environ 1,2 million d’unités.

De plus, GICA et le géant français des matériaux de construction Lafarge comptent doter l’usine de ciment de Meftah, qu’ils exploitent conjointement, d’une ligne de production supplémentaire ; Lafarge construit également dans la wilaya de Biskra, en partenariat avec l’entreprise locale Sagremac, une cimenterie qui devrait être opérationnelle l’an prochain. L’usine sera dotée d’une capacité initiale de production de 2,7 millions de tpa, qui, à terme, devrait tourner autour des 6 millions de tpa.

Outre l’usine de Meftah, Lafarge exploite seul deux usines de ciment en Algérie ayant une capacité combinée d’environ 8 millions de tpa. En novembre dernier, Lafarge a ouvert un centre de recherche dédié aux matériaux de construction dans la zone industrielle de Rouïba dans la banlieue d’Alger, le premier du genre dans le pays. Le laboratoire, dont la construction a coûté 180 millions de dinars algériens (1,7 million d’euros) porte à quatre le nombre de centres de recherche de Lafarge dans le monde. GICA envisagerait également de lancer des projets de recherche et développement en collaboration avec plusieurs universités algériennes.

Des nouveaux venus peuvent encore espérer pouvoir s’implanter dans le pays suite à un communiqué du groupe égyptien ASEC Cement daté du 20 mars, annonçant son intention de vendre sa participation de 35% dans la cimenterie de Zahana dans la wilaya de Mascara, dont il assurait la gestion pour le compte de GICA depuis 2008. Conséquence des divers projets d’expansion mis en place, le Ministre du Développement Industriel et de la Promotion de l’Investissement Amara Benyounès a déclaré en février que le pays allait pouvoir cesser les importations de ciment d’ici trois ou quatre ans. Selon les estimations des autorités, la capacité de production nationale devrait atteindre 42 à 44 millions de tpa d’ici 2022, permettant des exportations de ciment à grande échelle en plus de satisfaire la demande intérieure..

TUNISIA: Carthage Cement reports 337% increase in turnover

The total turnover of Carthage Cement Company to March 31, 2014 amounted to 41,945 million Tunisian dinars (MTD) excluding VAT, up 337% compared to the same period in 2013.

Clinker sales reached 16.778 MTD during the first quarter while sales of cement amounted to 17.097 MTD, including 3.952 MTD at export.

Clinker production reached 234,084 tons, leading to the production of 136,083 tons of cement.

The production of aggregate in the quarry of Jebel Ressas posted an increase of 29% during the first three months of 2014, compared to the same period of 2013.

Production of Ready-Mix grew 5% in the first quarter 2014 compared to 2013.

INDIA: Divergence in cement sector

The March quarter may see a sharp contrast in cement sector sales and profits between north and south India-based companies. An inkling of this can be had from the divergent cement price trends over the last few months. Prices in the north and east were 15-20% higher than in the south. Secondly, demand has moved downhill in the southern states with Andhra Pradesh being the worst-hit owing to the political turmoil surrounding the formation of Telangana.

To be sure, it’s not as if the pan-India scenario is all that great. Overall cement consumption for the year ended 31 March is likely to show a lacklustre 3.5% growth. Project construction, which accounts for two-fifths of total cement consumption, is sluggish. A Citi report says the capex would have fallen 20% in 2013-14, after a 21% reduction in the preceding year. Residential construction is also down on the back of poor demand and the resultant high inventory with builders.

In that backdrop, the southern woes are far greater than the other regions. Oversupply has been the bane of the south given the concentration of limestone reserves, a key raw material, in the region. Nearly 43% of cement capacity additions between fiscals 2010 and 2013 took place in the south. This has left it with about 40% of the country’s cement capacity now.

Meanwhile, demand growth has not kept pace with capacity increase, leading to poor pricing power. In contrast, the north and east have been better off, more so in the March quarter, due to plant shutdowns at Binani Cement Ltd. An Emkay Global Financial Services report says that while cement prices moved up about 6% in the north and central regions from December till March, prices in the South fell 10%. Dealers say, barring Chennai, where there is some price stability, any price hike in the south has not been sustainable. Obviously, this implies lower realization in the south, compared with other regions. Add to this cost pressures from rising power and freight costs. To be sure, all cement makers are caught in a quagmire of higher costs and low utilization, but weak demand would exacerbate the hit to earnings for south-based companies.

Big southern firms such as India Cements Ltd and Ramco Cements Ltd may report a higher-than-industry contraction in margins mainly due to low utilization. The former may post a steep drop in operating profit and possibly report a net loss, while the latter’s performance, too, is unlikely to enthuse investors. In comparison, manufacturers with stronger presence in the north and east like ACC Ltd, Ambuja Cements Ltd and UltraTech Cements Ltd are likely to be better-off. Although operating profitability may take a beating due to cost pressures, the adverse impact would be moderate when compared with the last few quarters.

The divergence is likely to continue. There is consolidation in the northern and eastern regions with big manufacturers such as UltraTech and Holcim(Ambuja and ACC) getting bigger. The south remains fragmented with more than 30 firms, which will keep a check on pricing power. Only a pick-up in the capex cycle that would absorb supply and improve capacity utilization can pull up profitability of southern companies. This is unlikely in the near term.

Togo: Mines fixe en octobre le premier clinker du projet de Sika-Kondji

ScanTogo Mines, filiale du groupe allemand Heidelberg Cement, commencera en octobre prochain la production du clinker dans son projet de calcaire de Sika-Kondji, préfecture de Yoto dans le sud du Togo.

André Rygh, directeur général de ScanTogo Mines, a estimé à 95%, le 18 avril dernier, le niveau d’évolution globale des travaux démarrés en 2012, fixant en octobre prochain « la première production de clinker ».

La compagnie ScanTogo Mines a obtenu, dans le cadre de ce projet, une licence d’exploitation à grande échelle du calcaire, dont le gisement de Sika-Kondji qui est estimé à 75 millions de tonnes.

La maison-mère Heidelberg Cement, déjà présente au Togo via la compagnie Ciment du Togo (Cimtogo), a financé entièrement à hauteur de 254 millions $ la construction de cette usine devant produire 5000 tonnes de clinker par jour sur plus de 50 années.

MYANMAR: State-owned enterprises aim to be Asian tigers

Having reaped billions of rupiah in profits from the 240 million residents of the archipelago, a number of state-owned firms are now turning their attention to neighboring countries.

From a cement maker to an airline, they aim to tap into neighboring markets ahead of the ASEAN Economic Community, which is set to kick off next year.

Cement producer PT Semen Indonesia is in an ongoing discussion with Myanmar conglomerates to acquire a cement factory in that country. 

The company, which has allocated US$200 million for the acquisition, however, probably cannot complete the process this month as previously expected.

“We’ve conducted due diligence and we are now reviewing data from the field,” Semen Indonesia corporate secretary Agung Wiharto told The Jakarta Post recently.

“We don’t need to hurry because we want to get the best deal.”

Agung said that Myanmar was a “big potential market” for his firm as Myanmar’s economy was starting to grow as the formerly reclusive nation would need more cement to construct new buildings.

Myanmar is currently reforming its economy to be more open to the world after the transition from a military junta to a civilian government in 2011.

Myanmar has recorded economic growth of more than 6 percent since 2012, according to the World Bank.

Agung said that Myanmar’s cement demand stood at between 8 and 9 million tons per year, while its cement makers could only meet half of that.

“They’ve imported cement from Thailand and China. We want to capture that market with our presence,” he said.

“We aim to go regional,” Agung said, adding that his firm had successfully operated in Vietnam through its joint venture with Thang Long Cement Joint Stock Company (TLCC).

Semen Indonesia is not alone in its regional mission.

State-run lender Bank Negara Indonesia’s (BNI) construction firm PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) and oil and gas firm PT Pertamina have joined forces and established a representative office in Myanmar.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan previously urged 15 state-owned firms to expand their business to Myanmar because its economy was booming.

He said that Myanmar’s government had so far granted business permits to several state-owned firms, including the three that jointly established a representative office.

BNI international division head Abdullah Firman Wibowo said that for BNI, the representative office was currently collecting market intelligence to get a comprehensive picture of the prospects and business culture in Myanmar.

“About two weeks ago, we met with the Central Bank of Myanmar [CBM] to discuss our plan to open a branch there,” he said. 

“They welcomed our initiative positively.”

Firman added, however, that BNI would not open a branch in Myanmar anytime soon because CBM was still reviewing some regulations.

CBM was just granted operational independence in July last year after being controlled by Myanmar’s government, according to a report by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

“We will probably open our own representative office after everything is fixed in Myanmar,” Firman said.

BNI currently has several overseas branches — including those in Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong — that generally provide services on trade finance and remittance transfer.

Firman said that BNI recorded total remittance transfers amounting $19.83 billion in the first quarter this year, a slight increase from $19.79 billion in the same period last year.

The bank served international trade transactions with a total value of $7.3 billion in the first quarter this year, a 28.4 percent surge from the same period last year, he said.

Firman said that BNI would probably also jump into South Korea and Taiwan to capture a bigger portion of the market due to the many Indonesian migrants living in the two countries.

Joining the fray in expanding overseas business, WIKA also aims to enter Myanmar.

The company allocated Rp 300 billion ($26.26 million) for its subsidiary, WIKA Beton, to build a concrete factory in Myanmar.

The company has also received an offer to develop a real estate complex in Myanmar through WIKA Realty.

“We’re still discussing our expansion plan in Myanmar,” WIKA corporate secretary Natal Agrawan said recently.

Besides expanding its wing to Myanmar, WIKA is also aiming to widen its overseas portfolio in, among other countries, Brunei Darussalam and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, which already has 36 international destinations spanning across the globe, will open two new flight routes this year.

Garuda marketing and sales director Erik Meijer told the Post that Garuda would open the Jakarta-Manila (the Philippines) and Jakarta-New Delhi (India) routes by the end of this year.

The carrier already serves the Jakarta-Manila route, but through a code share agreement with Philippine Airlines.

Garuda spokesperson Pujobroto said that Garuda targeted to increase the number of its passengers by 10 to 20 percent this year, from almost 25 million last year.

Trading consultant firm PT Astronacci International president director Gema Goeyardi said overseas expansion to newly developing countries, such as Myanmar, would provide state-owned companies with very good markets because the countries could still potentially grow for the next 20 years.

“In addition, overseas expansion will also help state-owned firms prepare to face regional and global free trade zones,” he said.

Gema said that by operating in a regional scale, the companies would be stimulated to advance their benchmarking strategies, institutional managements and human resources.

GHANA: Experts predict reduction in cement prices

The price of cement could soon come down following negotiations between government and some cement manufacturers.

The price of cement on the local market had gone up steadily over the past few months largely due to incerase in the cost of production.

A bag of cement which was sold at 15 cedis in 2011, has seen a dramatic increase to almost 30 cedis, following the depreciation of the country’s currency.

Trade Minister, Haruna Iddrisu admitted that industry players were facing a tough time with the current economic conditions.

They had agreed to publish the retail prices from Accra to Wa, the minister said.

“We have also agreed to meet in the next 60 days, because for them the justification for the increase is the depreciation of the cedi and other increases in cost that is associated with the production of cement.

“But they yielded to my request to reduce the price of cement by a certain percentage. Dangote by 5 percent, and GHACEM, 3 percent by downward review; so we should see the price still being around 23 to 27 cedis and not 30, as we are seeing on the market.”

Mr Iddrisu also explained that government decided to intervene because of the impact on real estate and its attendant effect on persons in the chain of cement business.

TURKEY: Oyak eyes cement acquisitions in Europe, Africa

Turkey's Oyak army pension fund is looking into acquisition opportunities in the cement sector, focusing on Europe, Africa and Britain, its cement group chairman Celalettin Caglar said on Thursday.

Caglar said the group was also interested in acquisition opportunities that could arise from the merger of Holcim of Switzerland and France's Lafarge on Monday to create the world's biggest cement maker.

Lafarge has said two-thirds of divestments as a result of the deal with Holcim are expected to affect Western Europe, but there are also overlapping operations in India, China, Canada and Brazil.

FRANCIA: A punto de nacer nuevo líder mundial "cementero"

Con la fusión de la cementera francesa Lafarge y la suiza Holcim, está a punto de nacer el nuevo líder mundial en producción y comercialización de cemento de todo el mundo.

El cemento es uno de los materiales esenciales para la construcción. En 2013, el mundo produjo alrededor de 4 mil millones de toneladas de cemento, según datos de el Instituto de Geología de los EU, en su informe presentado en febrero de este año; esto es equivalente al peso total de 13 mil 300 "arcos de la Défense", del distrito financiero en París.

En los últimos 15 años el consumo del cemento ha aumentado más del doble y el crecimiento parece no detenerse, por lo menos hasta el 2050 como indican las proyecciónes.

El mercado mundial del cemento creció un 5 por ciento anual entre 1992 y 2012. Los países con economías "emergentes" tuvieron un papel fundamental en esta tasa de crecimiento continuo.

Según International Cement Review, la demanda global fue impulsada principalmente por los países emergentes; su cuota aumentó considerablemente durante la última década quedando en un 90 por ciento, mientras que Europa y América del Norte pasaron de representar el 25 por ciento del total de consumo mundial a apenas dominar un 12 por ciento.

En el año 2004 el consumo mundial de cemento experimentó una aceleración provocada por la expansión urbana de países como China, India, Brasil y el África subsahariana.

Ahora, China absorbe por sí sola un 58 por ciento de la demanda mundial. Hace dos años, con motivo del centenario de Holcim, su CEO Peter Stopfer, informó que el 75 por ciento de su capacidad productiva se encontraba en países emergentes. El mismo año Lafarge indicó que el 56 por ciento de sus ventas cementeras tuvieron lugar en Asia y Medio Oriente.

La crisis inmobiliaria fue brutal para los productores de cemento con presencia en los países desarrollados. Para darnos una idea de la caída, están los casos de EU y España, principales importadores entre los años 2006-2007 con 45 millones de toneladas, para el período 2009-2010, apenas llegaron a los 8 millones de toneladas.

Entonces la industria del cemento buscará evolucionar, es ahí donde la fusión entre Holcim y Lafargetendrá una oportunidad de crecimiento importante. La actividad cementera mundial está sometida a un proceso de concentración; al menos tres cuartas partes de la producción mundial está a cargo de las multinacionales, excepto en Asia y Medio Oriente, donde aún predomina la producción nacional.

Las cementeras chinas como China National Building Material y Anhui Conch son líderes de la industria pero no tienen presencia internacional, son emporios más bien locales.

Así el panorama, sólo existen 5 "jugadores" importantes que compartiran la mitad del mercado mundial del cemento:


Anhui Conch (China)

Lafarge (Francia)

Holcim (Suiza)

China National Building Material (China)

Heidelberg Cement (Alemania)

Estos productores representarán pos sí mismos el equivalente a la producción de los siguientes 70 cementeros importantes en el mundo, incluyendo la mexicana Cemex, que se encuentra en el lugar número 7 del ranking mundial. La fusión entre Lafarge y Holcim representará el 10 por ciento de la demanda mundial en manos de un solo consorcio.