INDIA: India Cement swings to profit in Q2

India Cement has postednet profit of Rs 697.1 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2011 as compared to net loss of Rs 336.3 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010.

Total income has increased 29.51% from Rs 8,428.4 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010 to Rs 10,916 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2011.

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.75, or 0.97%, to trade at Rs 76.50. The total volume of shares traded was 62,350 at the BSE

PAKISTAN: Cement makers want dues cleared

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has urged the government to clear their long-awaited dues on account of inland-freight subsidy. Chairman APCMA Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh has written a letter to the ministry of finance on the issue. In the letter, Sheikh recalled that the Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP) had allowed inland freight subsidy at the rate of 35 percent for cement exports by sea for the period from March 26, 2010 to June 30, 2010.

The aim of giving subsidy was to boost cement exports of the country as high inland-freight cost had made it impossible for cement makers to compete in the international market.H e said that the cement industry, after fulfilling all conditions, started filing claims for inland-freight subsidy to the TDAP and as of date, cement makers have filed claims worth Rs269.293 million.

Unfortunately, chairman APCMA said, neither any cement maker had so far received any claimed amount from the State Bank of Pakistan nor any intimation had been received from the TDAP regarding clearance of the said dues. “It was learnt that Ministry of Finance has not released any funds yet for the claims,” chairman said in the statement. 

He further pointed that cement production capacity in Pakistan is 44.217 million tons per annum. Eight percent of this capacity is situated in the North and 20 percent in the South of the country. During the year 2010-2011, domestic demand for cement was standing at 22.002 million tons and exports were 9.419 million tons, thus leaving substantial production capacity unutilised, he added.

He said that the sprit behind allowing inland freight subsidy was to maximize cement exports via sea and facilitate the cement units located in the north zone in particular. 

Keeping in view, the inland-freight subsidy facility, the cement makers had accepted export orders on the assumption that the freight claims would be honored, he added. Chairman APCMA requested the finance secretary to intervene in the matter and issue instructions to ensure immediate clearance of long-awaited inland freight subsidy claims by the cement manufacturers. “Delay in clearing legitimate claims of the cement industry is leading to colossal losses,” he added.

INDIA: JK Cement plans UAE plant

India-based cement manufacturer JK Cement has announced an investment of Rs750 crore (Dh55m) to set up a white cement plant in the UAE, through a subsidiary, with capacity to produce 0.6 million tonnes per year (mtpy).

This is in sharp contrast to the earlier announced plans for a 2.2 mtpy, $400mn project. The UAE cement plant by Kanpur-based cement maker JK Cement was scheduled to go on stream by the middle of 2010, but was hit by deteriorating economic conditions amid global slump and meltdown.

The new plant will be set up at the Fujairah Free Trade Zone and, according to JK Cement’s filing to Bombay Stock Exchange (where the form is listed), the plant will have provision to change over to produce grey cement.

“JK Cement has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on November 11, 2011, inter alia, has approved setting up of cement plant at J. K. Cement Works (Fujairah) FZC with production capacity of 0.6 Million Ton per annum of White Cement with a provision to change over to 1.01 Million Ton per annum capacity, grey cement at a total cost outlay $150 million. The project will be funded at a debt equity ratio of 2:1,” the filing said.

Fujairah Investment, an undertaking of the Fujairah government, will have a 10 per cent stake in the greenfield plant, that is being set up by JK Cement’s local subsidiary JK Cement Works (Fujairah).

The plant, which was earlier planned with a debt-equity ratio of 1:2, reportedly ran into financial troubles during the global economic slowdown, which has seen cement demand dwindle in the Gulf countries. A.K. Saraogi, chief financial officer, JK Cement, said in 2008 that bankers weren’t ready to fund the project and it wasn’t a good time to go ahead with high interest rates.

“We have to revisit the strategy and rework the whole project cost of the proposed UAE unit. We initially had estimated the project to go on stream by the middle of 2010, he had then said.

BRASIL:Brasil encuentra indicios de colusión en mercado del cemento

Seis productores brasileños de cemento se confabularon para fijar el precio de uno de los materiales para la construcción más importantes del país, dañando la competencia en un momento floreciente para el mercado, dijo el ministro de Justicia de Brasil.

La suiza Holcim, la portuguesa Cimpor, y los grupos locales Votorantim Cimentos, Camargo Correa, Itabira Agro Industrial y Cia. de Cimentos Itambe establecieron los precios entre ellos para sacar a los rivales más pequeños del mercado, dijo el jueves la secretaria de derecho económico del ministerio.

La dependencia oficial presentará un informe al CADE, el regulador nacional antimonopolio, recomendando que las firmas sean multadas y condenadas por prácticas anticompetitivas.

Los consumidores pagaron 1.500 millones de reales (850 millones de dólares) de más por el cemento que compraron el año pasado, según señala el informe.

"Estas compañías hicieron acuerdos para fijar los precios, también para aumentarlos, para dividirse el mercado, y para coordinar sus acciones de mercado tanto en el sector de cemento como en el de concreto", dijo Vinicius de Carvalho, quien encabeza la secretaría, a periodistas en Brasilia.

El informe se produce tras cinco años de investigación sobre el comportamiento abusivo de los mayores productores de cemento de Brasil, y mientras las denuncias de corrupción y sobreprecios persiguen los preparativos para el Mundial de futbol 2012 y los Juegos Olímpicos Rio de Janeiro 2016.

Brasil es el quinto más grande productor mundial de cemento, después de China, India, Estados Unidos y Turquía. Las ventas de cemento alcanzaron 15.000 millones de reales en el 2010.

La estructura de la industria cementera de Brasil es mayormente desigual, con grupos que tienen un fuerte control del mercado en regiones específicas, lo que aumenta la posibilidad de una colusión.

El numero de productores se ha contraído dramáticamente desde los 19 que había a principios de la década de 1990 a los alrededor de 10 que se contaban en el 2010.

Carvalho dijo que existe evidencia de que las adquisiciones de compañías e intercambio de activos entre cementeras podrían haberse realizado para impedir que los rivales entren en el lucrativo negocio.

Las seis compañías nombradas en el informe controlan hasta un 90 por ciento del mercado de cemento y concreto de Brasil.

A fin de restablecer la competencia en el mercado, las empresas deberían ser obligadas a desprenderse de algunos activos, dijo Carvalho, añadiendo que la dependencia oficial que encabeza podría incluir esa propuesta en el informe presentado a Cade.

HONDURAS: Denuncian abusos en compra de cemento

Argumentan que esta ley ordena que estas compras deben hacerse a través de una licitación pública.

Un acto de corrupción conduce el gobierno por la intención de realizar una compra directa de cemento que asciende a 500 millones de lempiras, se denunció ayer en cuatro instituciones.

La denuncia la firma José Antonio Ávila, como representante legal de la Barra de Abogados Hondureños Anticorrupción.

El escrito lo interpuso ante la Fiscalía contra la Corrupción, Tribunal Superior de Cuentas, Procuraduría General y Consejo Anticorrupción.

En la denuncia, Ávila expone que el Poder Ejecutivo pretende una compra directa de cemento por 500 millones de lempiras, "lo cual es violatorio a la Ley de Contratación del Estado, Constitución de la República y demás ordenamientos jurídicos".

Argumentó que esta ley ordena que estas compras deben hacerse a través de una licitación pública.

"De no hacerse esta licitación pública, el señor Presidente (Lobo Sosa) está incurriendo en varios delitos, principalmente en abuso de autoridad y violación a los deberes de los funcionarios", advirtió.