India Cement & Construction Materials (vol 1 / issue 28)

india A CemWeek Publication

ISSUE 28

CEMENT

JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2016

& CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

CW Research Highlights GLOBAL CEMENT VOLUME DEMAND IN DECEMBER 2015

OUTLOOK 2016: INDIA Limestone - Q & A’s Mr K N Rao Director- Energy Environment at ACC Limited Mr Shailesh Gosavi, Dy General Manager, Technical Services, JSW Cement Ltd. exclusive WONDER CEMENT PLANT VISIT

News

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Analysis

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Market Coverage

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Interviews

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People

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

4 Is India on a Consolidation Path?

2

Expectations and developments as determined by new state policies and programs

12 ACement Plant in Plain Desert

& CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

www.cemweek.com/india

EDITORIAL LETTER

CemWeek

Visiting, observing and getting ready for the future

NUMBERS IN BRIEF

ROBERT MADEIRA

Performance of India’s Cement Sector

CEMWEEK PUBLISHER HEAD OF CW GROUP RESEARCH

Limestone Countdown

51

ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS

CRISTIAN KUSZAI

Doing Wonders

16 The Challenge of Slowing the

A detailed analysis on limestone spread in India and exploitation forecast

24

CEMENT

3

All there is to know when developing a new cement plant

india

T aking a closer look at how the newest technology is used in a new plant

30 Imported Petcoke Prices in India

Fall 3%+ Petcoke import prices and evolution reasons

Latest Broker Recommendations

research and analytics

34 36

Cement Volumes Cement Energy

49

Infrastructure & Projects

CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS

CONTENT EDITOR & ONLINE COORDINATOR

MARINA FERNANDES JR. EDITOR & COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT

LUCIANA MURARASU MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

LIVIU DINU ADVERTISING

cement 38 MARKET AND COMPETITION

CONTRIBUTING ANALYSTS

40 M&A and FINANCE

ALEXANDRA PAUN SANTOSH SHETTYE

42 PROJECTS AND EXPANSIONS

DESIGNERS

45 VOLUME AND PRICING 46 PEOPLE

30

RALUCA CERCEL SILVIU STEFANESCU STEFANA ABICULESEI SUSHMITA RAI

47 REGIONAL news 48 EQUIPMENT HIGHLIGHTS

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LETTER FROM EDITOR

STRATEGIES

FOR THE FUTURE

We’ve put on our boots and protection helmets for a dive into the daily life of cement making. The 28th issue of India Cement and Construction Materials Magazine (ICCM) covers the challenges and solutions needed to set up and to run cement factories, with two in depth examples that will show you an insider’s glimpse into the industry.

B

ut the present determines the future, and for the Indian cement industry the most important topic regarding the future is how long the current raw material reserves will last. The new issue of ICCM takes a closer look at how limestone is used, how long it will last and how it will be replaced in the not-so distant future. Trends in petcoke prices and market news are also extensively covered in this issue.

One of the main stories of the current issue of ICCM magazine focuses on the latest developments regarding the petcoke prices.

The story outlines trends and figures from the CW Research’s January update of India Petcoke CFR price assessment, with a focus on the current oversupply. As US refineries are running at high throughput rates due to low oil prices and good refinery margins, there is a large inventory of petcoke at the refineries.

Read the feature to find out what is the impact of the current situation on the Indian cement market.

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Another major topic of the latest issue of ICCM is the new plant built by Monpolymet Group in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia – a feat of engineering and ambition which aims to dramatically improve the country’s balance of cement imports and exports.

Building a plant, operating it and making it relevant to the local and international market in one of the least populated countries of the world might seem a hard task, but Monpolymet Group is here to prove to us that this isn’t so far-fetched. Don’t miss out the story to find out how Munkhnasan Narmandkh, Chief Executive Officer of Monpolymet Group describes the Moncement project.

In order to go even deeper into the realm of cement production, the ICCM team visited India’s Wonder Cement’s plant at Nimbahera, District Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. The discussion with the company’s management revealed that Wonder Cement has left no stone unturned while installing the state-of-theart technologies in the plant. Check out the report to find out what measures Wonder Cement has taken to bring down Co2 emissions and to conserve limestone deposits.

Speaking of limestone, this edition of ICCM devotes a fullfledged feature to the challenges posed by India’s reserves of the raw material that is so important for cement production. Though relatively large, the country’s current resources of limestone will be enough to provide for another 30-40 years of cement production. That means that the industry will have to come up with new strategies, new technologies and replacements for the product. Read the story to find out some of the main options at hand.

India Cement and Construction Material Magazine provides all the relevant news about the main indicators of the industry, including the latest facts and figures about cement volumes, energy prices, relevant people in the business, regional developments, equipment and construction projects. Don’t miss out the numbers and the trends laid out in the special sections.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Cristian Kuszai

CONTENT EDITOR & ONLINE COORDINATOR

NUMBERSIN BRIEF

FASTER PACED GROWTH FOR INDIA’S ECONOMY The latest released numbers indicate that India’s economy is growing at a faster pace than that of China According to the IMF, 2015 was the first year when India saw its economy expand faster than China’s.

Meanwhile, domestic demand in India is expected to continue strong.

It is expected that the India’s economic growth will make the fastest growth major economy in the world. This positive scenario is rooted by latest policy reforms initiated by the government, a positive FDI friendly environment and lower commodity prices.

India’s inflation rate in 2015 saw a decline as a result of the reduction in the global oil and agricultural commodity prices.

On the other hand, China’s sluggish growth is due to the weaker investment plans in the country while the economy continues to rebalance. China economy is growing at its slowest pace in decades as it is in the midst of a challenging transformation from an export driven to a consumer driven economy.

CHART: INDIA'S GROWTH RATE (PERCENTAGE)

7.5

7.0

Q4 - 2015

2016E

FY March 2016E

Global economic growth is currently estimated at 3.1 percent for 2015, and at 3.4 and 3.6 percent for 2016 and 2015 respectively. This reflects the gradual increase in the global share of emerging market economies and underlines their importance as drivers of global growth.

2017E

Source: IMF and India's government

8.0

The Indian government announced that the growth rate in the last quarter of the year has increased at a slower pace than the previous months of the year. At the same time, the government also foresees the 2016-17 fiscal year to grow at a higher pace than what IMF has projected for the calendar year.

CHART: GDP AT CONSTANT PRICES GROWTH RATE India

China

8.5 7.5

5.5

2015

2016E

2017E

2018E

2019E

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

2020E

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Source: IMF

6.5

3

FEATURE

OUTLOOK 2016:

IS INDIA ON A

CONSOLIDATIO path?

The on-going asset acquisition race in India seems to be a blessing in disguise. Why? Because not only participation from the private equity and non-traditional players would improve, but the existing players would seek opportunities for new market entry.

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INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

ON Source: google.com

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FEATURE

I

n India, almost 39 million tons of cement capacity (approx 10 percent of industry capacity) are set for divestment. One of the major global players, Lafarge India has already submitted a revised proposal to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to sell its entire 10.8 million tons capacity (7.8 million tons in the East and 3 million tons in the North).

In addition, Jaiprakash Associates is also planning to sell its entire cement capacity of 22.3 million tons, worth INR 210 billion -215 billion (15.1 million tons in Central and North India, 2.2 million tons in East India, and 5 million tons in South India).

The reason that provoked divestment decisions were financial stress due to prolonged business recovery and diversified business

Source: google.com

What’s more? India’s largest conglomerate, ADAG Group’s Reliance Cement, intends to sell its 5.6 million tons situated in Central India for INR 50 billion-55 billion.

The reason that provoked divestment decisions were financial stress due to prolonged business recovery, diversified business focus in the case of Reliance and Jaiprakash Associates, and regulatory compulsions for Lafarge.

In terms of potential, the Central region with 41 percent planned divestment tops the chart in mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities, which is 30 percent of the regional capacity; followed

by Eastern India with 26 percent of planned divestment and 18 percent of regional capacity.

REGULATORY COMPLICACY In India, the regulatory complicacy has always been an impediment for cement industry growth. Consider this: around six to nine months back, most of the M&A activities in the cement sector hit the roadblock. And the reason was uncertainty due to the new mining bill (MMDR Act), which restricted the transfer of allocated limestone, mines.

Meanwhile, due to lack of clarity, companies with an urgent need to divest have opted to put on block their entire cement business units (instead of individual assets) so that there is no MMDR complicacy. Lafarge’s proposal appears to have come after its earlier plan of selling 5.15 million tons assets worth INR 50 billion to Birla Corp met with regulatory hurdles from the MMDR Act.

Source: Industry, Media

The two deals include Lafarge selling half of its India capacity in the east India to Birla Corp and the second, the company will sell the entire capacity in India.

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Consequently, large ticket M&A transactions such as UltraTech Cement’s acquisition of JPA’s 4.9 million tons MP plants and Birla Corp’s acquisition of Lafarge’s 5.15 million tons plant in East India are yet to conclude. The industry’s expectation of an amendment to MMDR allowing for such transfers remains elusive (now the expectation is on Union Budget in February 2016).

The implicit assumptions have indicated that the deal valuations are largely in line with past transactions, but the size of the

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Infrastructure work in India

Further, improved sentiments are likely to result in new projects being announced by the private sector.

ICRA, an Indian rating agency expects the demand to pick-up and gradually improve in the medium term in line with the recovery in infrastructure, investment cycle and the overall economy.

Notwithstanding the improved sentiments, a number of structural constraints need to be sorted out for project

70

Fact file the number the government will seek to sanction for the infrastructure.

thousand INR

284

in 2016, the cement demand in India is for a four percent YoY increase to

MILLION TONS

individual deals would be significantly higher, given that entire business units are on the block now and not just select assets.

According to media reports, the targeted transactions for

In India, the regulatory complicacy has always been an impediment for cement industry growth

39

is the capacity set for diverstment , in India.

million tons of cement The assets on the block are ranges between

the assets on the block are ranging between INR 8,167-10,550/ ton, depending on the quality and profitability of the portfolio.

WHAT LIES AHEAD? The present government is leaving no stone unturned to transform the country’s infrastructure into a world-class one.

Since the government is stable, and most importantly growth oriented, the infrastructure and investment cycle is expected to pick up, which in turn would support the cement demand in the year 2016.

INR 8,16710,550/tons

10

km of highways is the number the NDA government would award contracts for, in 2016.

THOUSAND km

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7

FEATURE implementation to gather pace. For instance, the road sector is marred by execution issues due to delays in acquiring right of way and environment clearances as well as financial closure.

industry is expected to be moderate at 3.8-4 percent during 2016.

Capacity additions in cement beyond FY17 are expected to slow down further, given the lack of quality limestone resources.

In the year 2016, the Moreover, with the proposed auctions of limestone reserves government is expected under the Mines and Minerals to initiate the process (Development and Regulation) to revive various stalled Due to lack of clarity, companies with an Amendment bill, acquisition price road projects by focusing urgent need to divest have opted to put on for limestone reserves is likely to on a quick resolution of increase. block their entire cement business units projects stuck midway; delegating power to While incumbent players having regional offices to grant forest existing mining licenses will be better positioned to expand clearances and infusion of funds by NHAI in projects stuck their capacities as compared to new entrants, acquisition due to financial constraints, but having attained 50 percent of existing assets with limestone sources will gather pace as completion. compared to investments in new plants.

Further, the GoI's policy of awarding projects only after securing 80 percent right of way is expected to have a positive impact on the pace of execution of these projects.

The 98 identified mission cities submitted their smart city plans in December 2015 for evaluation on credibility, feasibility and Road construction citizen engagement, in the second stage of the City Challenge site

HOUSING AND INFRA DEVELOPMENT

Source: google.com

Pickup of real estate & industrial activity, infrastructure projects and the overall investment cycle will remain critical for the sector over the near-term. With demand growth showing a sluggish trend during H1 FY16, the pace of recovery in cement

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Competition. Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is considering raising Rs 8,500 crore funds for the smart city initiative from Municipal bonds and multilateral funding agencies.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Source: google.com

during the present fiscal year, with cement the preferred building material going forward for all road contracts. In 2016, the NDA government would award contracts for 10,000 km of highways.

Housing construction site

HOUSING SECTOR’S BUDGET EXPECTATION

In the recent past, the government has taken several measures to improve infrastructure. Four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), an inter-ministerial apex committee has cleared projects for more than half of the 500 cities identified in the mission.

As the housing industry has a direct impact on the cement sector, the expectations are high from upcoming Union Budget 2016. The Union Budget is an eagerly-awaited annual event which Indians follow closely, as the decisions and allocations announced by the Finance Ministry have great pertinence to both individuals and industries.

The total investments in these cities will amount to INR 11,654 crore. Moreover, the government has set a target of completing 10,950 km of National Highways for the current fiscal, while 2,892 km

According to Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, JLL India, “The real estate sector is sensitive to many of the policies that are announced both for various industries and individuals.

The sector is just emerging from a prolonged and painful slowdown, and is looking for all and any signs of light at the end of the tunnel.”

The current rules prevent a transfer of mines attached to a cement unit at a time of sale highway had been constructed until October end, last year.

The government has also announced that it expects the construction of 60 million housing units under the “Housing for All by 2020” project, with an estimated 40 million units in rural areas and 20 million in urban centers.

Additionally, the government has allocated a significant share of the USD 19 billion earmarked for infrastructure development for building 100,000 km of roads (over the next five years)

Source: Industry, Media

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FEATURE

Source: google.com

Most home buyers in India are averse to paying an extra premium for such projects, and the low demand means that developers are not sufficiently active in this segment. The Budget should provide a combination of incentives to boost the development and buyer interest in green real estate in the country.

New blocks of flats from Housing for All by 2020 program

He added: “This fact makes Union Budget 2016 all the more critical, and the real estate industry has many expectations from it.”

Here are some of the suggestions made by JLL India.

PROVIDE CLARITY ON GST The Finance Minister should announce a specific date for the implementation of GST. This major reform will give the industry a very clear taxation structure and induce a major sea change for the logistics architecture, since logistics will be driven by cost and not by a regulatory regime.

country’s infrastructure in to a worldclass one

The Budget should provide clear and convincing benefits to buyers of green real estate in the country. Stakeholders of the residential real estate sector definitely require more encouragement to press the 'green' button.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Although the previous Budget prioritized affordable housing, the upcoming Budget should allocate an amount specifically for building infrastructure and improving connectivity in the peripheral areas of cities, especially the metros.

Without this, it will be difficult to provide affordable housing in the cities. Developers entering this segment should be allowed cheaper financing options, thereby also providing a shot in the arm for The present government is leaving government’s ‘Housing for All by no stone unturned to transform the 2022’ target.

PROVIDE MORE INCENTIVES

10

ADDITIONAL ALLOCATION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

REMOVE THE DDT BOTTLENECK IN REITS

Despite the announcement last year, there has not been a single REIT listing in India to date. The primary reason is the presence of Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT). While the government has worked towards removing other bottlenecks, DDT has remained a key pending issue.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Developers and other asset holders need the government to do away with it in the Budget 2016. Until this vital change is made, REITs – which can almost single-handedly revive the Indian real estate sector –

Cement stocks

The implicit assumptions have indicated that the deal valuations are largely in line with past transactions will remain piped at the post. To aid the faster revival of the real estate sector as well as to provide a significant boost to the economy in general, the Budget must address this issue.

ICCM'S TAKE

Source: google.com

The year 2016 bodes well for cement demand in India, given the continued strength of the economy, despite global economic headwinds.

“The government is poised to take advantage of a reduced subsidy burden and low oil prices to push forward aggressive policy initiatives for the infrastructure sector, which are expected in the budget for FY2016-17 in the end of February,” says Prashant Singh, Associate Director, CW Research.

Already, there has been an announcement that the government will seek to sanction approximately INR 70,000 crore for the

infrastructure for new initiatives aside from the policy action to resolve stalled projects to the tune of INR 40,000 crore.

Furthermore, the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission and One-Rank-One Pay (OROP) policy for the armed forces is likely to boost demand for the housing and real estate sector in the new financial year.

CW Research estimates, for 2016, the cement demand in India is for a four percent YoY increase to 284 million tons in comparison to the one percent demand increase witnessed from 2014 to 2015.

Source: Industry, Media

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FEATURE

A CEMENT PLANT IN

PLAIN

DESERT

Building a plant, operating it and making it relevant to the local and international market in one of the least populated countries of the world might seem a hard task. But Monpolymet Group is here to prove us that this isn’t so far-fetched.

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INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Source: wikimedia.org

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FEATURE GENERAL CONTEXT We spoke to Munkhnasan Narmandkh, Chief Executive Officer of Monpolymet Group, the company developing the Moncement project, and their newest plant in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. It comes as a breath of fresh air in the Mongolian cement market dominated by imports from China and as a confirmation of the country’s sustained economical rising meant to secure entire production and sales locally. The plant’s long term target is to put up with the imports and assure a production based 100% only on raw materials coming from within Mongolia.

Mongolian railroad

PLANT DEVELOPMENT AND DESCRIPTION

SUPPLIERS AND TENDENCIES

For the project-phase the company relied on the Chinese company, VVR International.

Their knowledge was useful for guaranteeing best suppliers

The company had an acquisitions team handling the procurement of all necessary materials based on a list of suppliers and vendors. Supplier selection is a delicate process that must take into consideration the following aspects: price, quality and delivery. These are all monitored by the procurement team that constantly analyzes the market. However, in emergency situations, the company relies on imported and recurrent supplies.

The environment has a -30 to +30 degrees Celsius fluctuation

and equipment quality. A part of these were used during the operational phase.

The plant was built by Huaxin Cement LTD including workshops as: vertical raw mill, coal mill, tube cement mill and kiln. The crushers were provided by Sinoma Liyang and Sinoma Changshu, China. New technologies used include: dry process with five stage preheater ILC type pre-calciner, high efficiency cooler, only bag filters and vertical mills. Due to its location, in Gobi Desert, the water necessary is assured by a 90% recycling system. The plant’s activity also involves measures to reduce its carbon footprint and greenhouse effect, aiming to minimize the environmental impact.

The construction is part of the Mongolian state policy sustaining economical rising meant to secure entire production and sales locally.

The company’s main concern was to have all the possible raw materials locally. 98% of these are brought from the plant’s quarry, only 2.2 kilometers away, having all other materials

Material transportation unit Source: monpolymet.mn

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Fact file

90 %

reused due to the arid location

of the water

ERP Source: railpictures.net

sourced locally. An important aspect for both suppliers, grinding station shipments and the products’ loading and delivery is the connection the plant has with the main Mongolian railroad system. This also applies for fuel accessibility.

On the other hand the consumables and equipment have to be imported. In order to satisfy this aspect too, the company is developing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in order to optimize the procurement module and its efficiency.

is used to optimize the procurement of the consumables and equipment

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

98%

is supplied from the plant's quarry, only 2.2 km away

of the raw material need

Munkhnasan Narmandkh, CEO, Monpolymet Group

When talking about their future plans, the company aims to enter the market and build a brand implying stability, quality and supply and plan to have all their production oriented to the local market and countries bordering Mongolia.

Suppliers’ selection must take into consideration things like: price, quality and delivery The plant in itself is a reflection of the new state policy of developing the local market instead of exporting some small or unprocessed mining products.

In order to ensure a continuous production in a harsh environment, the plant worked together with an Operations and Maintenance Company that guarantees the transfer of knowledge. The target is to have a full operating plant within the next 3 years.

Source: google.com

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FEATURE

Limestone conservation

THE CHALLENGE OF SLOWING THE

LIMESTON

COUNTDOWN

As the cement industry in India is dynamically growing stronger and modern, one of the biggest challenges facing the industry in the coming years is the conservation of limestone, the main raw material for cement production. Companies are looking for strategies to extend the duration and volume of reserves ownership, or to replace limestone in the production process, since the time is not too far when limestone will be weighed in years, rather than tons.

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ONE

Source: google.com

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FEATURE COUNTING WHAT’S LEFT The Indian cement industry has achieved a remarkable status with a current production capacity of over 366 million tons, making it the second largest cement producing country in the world.

The growth of cement industry depends on the availability of cementgrade limestone, the chief raw material for cement production.

India is bestowed with huge reserves of limestone. The statewise distribution of cement grade limestone indicates the highest concentration in the North and South zones. The reserves are not uniformly distributed in all the states, as some states have large deposits whereas some are almost devoid of limestone.

94% of total cement grade limestone reserve is concentrated in only 10 states National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) figures indicate that the total cement grade limestone reserves are estimated at 123,829.64 million tons (as of 2014). As research and exploration became more comprehensive, the estimated reserves of cement grade limestone increased in volume over the years.

Out of the total amount, 31,758.72 million tons are of “Proved” category, accounting for 26% of the total, while 39,028.56 million tons are of “Probable” category and 53,042.35 million tons are of “Possible” category.

The estimated reserves include all limestone deposits as reported, however, some deposits may not be sufficient to cater the limestone requirement for large cement plants.

Out of the total reserves, 94% of total cement grade limestone reserve is concentrated in only 10 states: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Gujrat, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Andhra Pradesh & Telangana alone have about 26% of the country’s total reserves, followed by Rajasthan - 16%, Karnataka - 11%, Himachal Pradesh - 10% and Gujarat - 9%.

LIMESTONE RESERVES: A MATTER OF TIME

Source: National Council for Cement and Building Materials

According to the Indian Bureau of Mines, India has total cement grade limestone reserves of

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No cement capacity addition might be possible beyond 2023-24

just under 9 billion tons. Based on this, a Planning Commission working group on mine exploration and development said that no cement capacity addition would be possible beyond

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Besides dwindling reserves, the environmental concerns too are prompting regulators and governments to find solutions, as over 60% of the industry’s CO2 emissions are caused by transformation of limestone into lime, called “decarbonation”. The cement industry already replaces some of its raw natural resources with waste and by-products from other industrial processes.

Selected waste and by-products containing useful elements such as calcium, silica, alumina and iron can be used as raw materials in the kiln, replacing natural substances like clay, shale and limestone.

Some waste materials have both a useful mineral content and recoverable calorific value. For example, sewage sludge has a low but significant calorific value, and yields ash that becomes a raw material used to make clinker. In terms of volume, construction and

Source: google.com

2023-24 if the cement sector grew at a projected rate of 12%, given the environment constraints over tapping cement grade limestone resources. According to the report, exploration for the limestone deposits has extensively been carried out in the country but all the available resources cannot be exploited due to various constraints such as quality, poor infrastructure in inaccessible areas, forest cover, environmental sensitivity, surface encumbrances.

Limestone extraction will no longer be viable within a few decades Shailesh Gosavi, General Manager of Technical Services with JSW Cement Ltd., estimates that limestone extraction will no longer be viable within a few decades: „It is a well-known fact in the industry that this resource will only be economically extracted for 30 to 35 Years. After that, we may have to import limestone.”

WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?

Besides dwindling reserves, the environmental concerns are additionally prompting regulators and governments to find solutions, as over 60% of the industry’s CO2 emissions are caused by transformation of limestone into lime, called “decarbonation”.

Limestone required to produce clinker can be partially substituted by a range of alternative calcium containing materials. Most of the alternative materials are ashes provided by the combustion of alternative fuels. The cement industry has already replaced some of its raw natural resources with waste and by-products from other industrial processes.

Fact file TOP 5 STATES THAT PRODUCE LIMESTONE IN INDIA The volume of limestone production in India varies from state to state, however about 75 percent of the total production comes from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka.

1. MADHYA PRADESH-CHHATTISGARH:

These two states produce about 27 percent of the total limestone production in India. The extensive deposits occur in Jabalpur, Bilaspur, Damoh, Rewa and Satna districts. The other producing districts are Bastar, Betul, Raigarh, Durg.

2. ANDHRA PRADESH:

It produces about 16 percent of the total limestone production in India. It is the second largest producer and the main producing districts are Cuddappah, Vishakhapatnam, Kurnool, Guntur, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Adilabad, Warangal and Mahbubnagar.

3. RAJASTHAN:

Rajasthan, the third largest producer (14 percent), has limited reserves of limestone. Here the cement grade limestone is obtained from Ajmer, Banswara, Dungarpur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sirohi, Tonk, Bundi, Alwar, Sawai Madhopur, Nagaur, Udaipur and Pali districts.

4. GUJARAT:

In Gujarat, good quality limestone is produced in Banaskantha district. The other limestone producing districts are Amreli, Kachchh, Junagarh, Surat, Kheda, Panch Mahal and Sabarkantha districts. The state produces about 10 percent of total production.

5. KARNATAKA:

The cement grade limestone is mainly produced in Bijapur, Belgaum, Shimoga, Chittradurga, Tumkur, Mysore and Gulbarga districts. Karnataka produces about 8 percent of the total production in India.

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FEATURE The quality parameters of our cement are amongst

the BEST in the world

Shailesh Gosavi, Dy General Manager, Technical Services, JSW Cement Ltd. AT PRESENT, IN INDIA, WHICH ARE THE STATES THAT YOU THINK HAVE MAXIMUM AVAILABILITY OF LIMESTONE DEPOSITS? AND, GOING FORWARD, HOW IS THE COMPANY STRATEGIZING TO SOURCE THE SAME FROM THESE STATES? Off the ten states that have major reserves of limestone, Andhra and Telangana have the maximum share of 25-27%. All others are in the 10-15% Range.

HOW IS THE COMPANY PLANNING, AT CURRENT PRODUCTION, AND CONSIDERING THE EXPANSION PLANS, IF ANY, TO UTILIZE ITS LIMESTONE RESERVES? We have our integrated Cement manufacturing unit at Nandyal, Kurnool AP. All the other units that are currently operational and upcoming will be Grinding units and we will either utilise our limestone at Nandyal or Import the clinker. Anyways, we produce the most sustainable and durable product which is JSW Portland Slag Cement, where the absorption of slag is around 50 %, which leads to a considerable savings of limestone as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

IT SEEMS THE GOVERNMENT IS LIKELY TO AMEND THE MINES AND MINERALS (DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATION) ACT 2015. HOW POSITIVE IS THE MOVE AND WHAT IS THE IMPACT YOU MAY WITNESS IN THE COMING YEARS? It should have a considerable impact on the industry.

AT PRESENT, WITH A PRESSURE ON CONSERVING LIMESTONE DEPOSITS, IS CEMENT TO CLINKER RATIO CHANGING IN INDIA? Yes, it is improving, albeit very slowly. The customers are still demanding Ordinary Portland Cement in some regions, which is the most unsustainable product. If Indian customers and specifiers adopt a strict policy of using Blended cements, only then can we achieve the desired result.

ARE THE CEMENT COMPANIES REDUCING CEMENT TO CLINKER RATIO, WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT? WHAT WILL BE THE POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE LIMESTONE USAGES IN THE COUNTRY? Yes all companies are propagating utilisation of Blended Cements. The quality parameters of our cement are amongst the best in the world.

IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY OF ENRICHMENT OF CACO3 IN LIMESTONE, THROUGH DIFFERENT BENEFICIATION TECHNIQUES? IF YES, EXPLAIN US WHAT ARE THOSE TECHNIQUES? A lot of research is underway on this topic. We have still not reached the end but we are on the right track.

SINCE INDIA IS WITNESSING CONSOLIDATION IN THE CEMENT SECTOR, DO YOU THINK THOSE WHO HAVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF MINE RESERVES WILL DOMINATE THE SECTOR IN THE NEAR FUTURE? With the aggressive development plan of India, I don’t think that is a possibility. There will be consolidation, as it’s a rule of market economics, but nobody may be able to dominate the sector.

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INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

demolition waste represents the largest single group of all waste types which seeks to amend the MMDR Act of 1957. According to steel in Europe, and a substantial part of this waste is concrete. Cement and mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar, the bill will increase production may be able to provide a solution by reintegrating production and transparency in the sector, terminate discretion, thus benefiting the local population. crushed, or otherwise treated, concrete as a substitute for Critics of the amendment say that the limestone. Ashes from lignite or bill’s extension of the lease period from coal, blast furnace slag, concrete 30 to 50 years will keep thousands crusher sand, aerated concrete Cement firms prefer to buy existing of mines opened at one point of meal or lime residues from sugar time, leading to increased pollution. industry and fractions from assets with limestone sources.

They also believe that the long lease demolition waste have already period with subsequent re-auctioning been decarbonated and could be provision means leaseholders will not used as an alternative to ‘virgin’ seek to rapidly close mines in an environmentally friendly manner. limestone.

Instead, they would keep the mines open and shift the burden of There are, however, limitations to the use of such alternatives, caused rehabilitation to future generations. primarily by the composition of the conventional raw materials at the considered plant. These include,, the local availability and cost Critics believe alienation of communities and an increase in of decarbonated raw materials, their composition and particularly conflict in the mineral rich areas can be another negative impact their silica, alumina, magnesia, Sulphur, volatile compounds or of the amendment, caused due to the reduction of the amount the trace materials content, as well as the possibilities to improve the leaseholder pays to the local community, to one third. qualities of raw materials by further processing.

IMPACT OF LEGAL CHANGES ON CEMENT SECTOR

MMDR 2015: Mining auctions may not be suitable for prospecting.

Source: National Council for Cement and Building Materials

One of the major changes in the mining industry is likely to be brought about by the Mines and Minerals - Development and Regulation (MMDR) Amendment Act passed in 2015,

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

21

FEATURE Limestone quarry overview

Another opinion about the 2015 bill is that it provides for granting all types of mineral concessions through auctioning, which doesn’t work in all situations. Auctioning is the best way to allocate concessions where deposits can be accurately established and assessed. But in cases where mineralization is not properly established, auctioning can result in undervaluation of minerals and subsequent lower revenue for the government, or overvaluation, resulting in the inability of the concession holder to meet commitments. Auctioning, therefore, is not suited for prospecting, some industry voices say.

THE BUSINESS APPROACH FOR LIMESTONE SCARCITY

As the Indian cement industry starts to count the years to the exhaustion of local limestone supplies, adaptive business strategies begin to emerge. The most noticeable one is consolidation with a focus on increasing control over limestone resources: cement firms prefer buying existing assets with limestone sources as opposed to investing in new plants.

For the time being, new plants are cheaper, but there is a major hidden cost.

Limestone acquisitions happens at Crushed concrete can be a a price of substitute for limestone. $130 per ton while setting up a new cement plant costs $80 per ton, but the discount means a wait of six to seven years before the capacity is operational.

And those without enough limestone reserves for future growth are looking at buyouts. Shailesh Gosavi believes that India’s consolidation in the cement sector cannot lead to the domination of the sector by those who have mine reserves. „With the aggressive development plan of India, I don’t think that is a possibility. There will be consolidation, as it’s a rule of market economics, but nobody may be able to dominate the sector.” The JSW Cement Ltd official also points to another

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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Source: google.com

business strategy for preserving limestone reserves: „We have our integrated Cement manufacturing unit at Nandyal, Kurnool AP. All the other units that are currently operational and upcoming will be grinding units and we will either utilize our lime stone at Nandyal or import the clinker. Anyways, we produce the most sustainable and durable product which is Portland slag cement, where the absorption of slag is around 50%, which leads to considerable savings of limestone as well as greenhouse gas emissions.”

Source: National Council for Cement and Building Materials

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

General practice is to use the topsoil and to sow

grow green cover.

Mr K N Rao, Director- Energy & Environment, ACC Limited

HOW IS THE COMPANY PLANNING, AT CURRENT PRODUCTION, AND CONSIDERING THE EXPANSION PLANS, IF ANY, TO UTILIZE ITS LIMESTONE RESERVES? With the support of our strong internal R&D team, we implement various measures to conserve natural resources by way of utilizing lower quality limestone, by improving the clinker factor and by using alternative raw materials in the manufacturing process. All these efforts have helped us reduce the ecological footprint and carbon footprint of our cement business and thus lead us on the journey towards making green cement.

The major raw material in the cement production process is limestone which is sourced from captive limestone mines at each of our cement plants. Other raw materials used in cement include iron ore, bauxite, laterite and gypsum which are sourced externally. Most cement in India is delivered in bags of 50 kg each and sold through trade channels. A smaller share is sold in bulk to large Ready Mixed Concrete. It is manufactured in a batching plant according to a predetermined mix and then delivered in transit mixers within range of certain users.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES THE COMPANY IS ADOPTING WHILE MINING THE LIMESTONE? Mine closure after extraction of limestone includes the rehabilitation process as an ongoing program designed to restore physical, chemical and biological quality disturbed by the mining to a level acceptable to all concerned. In many areas around the mines, topsoil, which is necessary for good vegetation, is in short supply.

General practice is to use the topsoil and to sow grow green cover.

This is also part of Progressive Mine Closure Plan (PMCP) which is integral of Mining Plan / Scheme of Mining duly approved by Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). As per the approved PMCP for the Govari and Sindola Mines near Chanda, mine management has made certain commitments. Progressive mine closure plan is an additional chapter in the mining plan and is reviewed every five years in the Scheme of Mining.

Mine management considers post mining rehabilitation requirements and the operational strategies to achieve those outcomes as an integral part of mine planning and operation.

Hence quarry rehabilitation is practiced along with mining operation and continues steadily through mine life. Various measures as described in the mining plan are adopted to enhance the survival rate and life expectancy of these plantations.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

23

FEATURE

Plant Visit

Doing Wonders

Recently, the CemWeek team did a quick visit to India’s Wonder Cement plant at Nimbahera, District Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. Based on the discussion with company’s management, Wonder Cement has left no stone unturned while installing the state-of-the-art technologies in the plant.

2424JANUARY JANUARY / FEBRUARY - FEBRUARY 2016 2016

INDIA INDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

Source: CW Group

2525

INDIA INDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE JANUARY JANUARY - FEBRUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 2016

FEATURE

C Source: CW Group

louds of dust, loud sounds from the plant, quarry excavation, heavy duty trucks creating pollution etc., seem to be the perception of an operating cement unit. However, it (perception) completely changed when CemWeek did a quick visit to Wonder Cement’s plant at Nimbahera in Rajasthan, India.

To begin with, as per the company’s management, Wonder Cement has taken all the necessary measures to bring down Co2 emissions, and in this connection, they have tried different cementitious materials to conserve limestone deposits, which are connected to the cement plant.

The limestone mine has a proven reserve of 330 million tons, with a lifecycle of 30 years. We extract around 18,000 – 22,000 tons of limestone, per day.

Wonder Cement Plant main entrance

While raw material acquisition and refining is one of the most important stages of cement production for which Pfeiffer has supplied the latest VRM technology, the equipment for Pyro-processing and clinker grinding has been supplied by ThyssenKrupp.

GREEN INITIATIVES Speaking about green initiatives undertaken by Wonder Cement, the entire design of the plant is based on the latest environmental norms. Technologies, including a reverse air bag house and ESP, has also inducted in the plant. Basically, ESP has been used for gas cleaning of every aspect the necessary of cement manufacturing.

The company has taken all down Co2 emissions

Meanwhile, the company measures to bring produces blended cement, apart from Portland cement, both 43 and 53 grade, where fly-ash is used as one of the ingredients.

The level of fly ash absorption is 26 percent at present.

2626JANUARY JANUARY / FEBRUARY - FEBRUARY 2016 2016

To this, Mr JC Toshniwal, Executive Director, said, “Our plant at Nimbahera, has undertaken all the necessary environmental norms suggested by the Ministry of Environment.”

INDIA INDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

He added, “Also, a number of nuisance bag filters installed have emissions of much below the permissible unit. That enables the plant to be clean and dust free.”

A number of nuisance bag filters i installed having emission of much below the permissible unit Importantly, a fair amount of measures of the company’s concern on environmental issues was addressed by planting 55,000 tree saplings in 50 hectares, in the last two years, against a target of 75 hectares in 20 years.

That said, the company is also in the process of using industrial waste as a source of fuel for cement production process. “We want to use the less hazardous industrial waste. So, by using these industrial wastes, we do not only disposing it, which anyway gets dumped, but also saving the environment too,” explains Mr S M Joshi, President – Works.

“But, these are our long-term plan,” avers Toshniwal.

LIMESTONE MINING

Fact file

18-22

is the extracted quantity of limestone, per day.

thousand tons the equipment for Pyro-processing and clinker grinding has been supplied by ThyssenKrupp.

VRM TECHNOLOGY

55

On short-term, the company's focus is to reach

kWh/tons of clinker

For cement grinding, presently the company is operating at

• The cement plant requires limestone which is extracted by using NONEL (Shock Tube) eco-friendly blasting technology. imestone deposits are mainly extracted by bench •L mining in which holes are charged with ammonium nitrate and fuel oil explosive and blasted.

• The rock is excavated with front end loaders (10 m3 capacity), loaded into 55 to 60 tons and then transported to the crusher.

• The Bhatkotari limestone mines have proved reserves of over 330 million tons.

• The plant at Nimbahera requires 3.75 million tons of this raw material per year to fulfill its installed capacity.

• Another characteristic feature of this limestone is low alkali, low magnesia and low chloride content, which are highly desirable parameters for concrete durability.

35

kWh/tons

18

is the value of the waste heat recovery system (WHS) the company is constructing

MV

55

is the number of tree samplings planted by the company in 50 hectars, in the last two years

THOUSAND 27 27

INDIA INDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE JANUARY JANUARY - FEBRUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 2016

FEATURE LIMESTONE CRUSHING • The company’s high-tech crusher breaks the limestone boulders to the required Raw Mill feed size.

• As limestone passes through the Wobbler, particles less than 50 mm is separated and passed to the secondary vibrating screening equipment, where particles smaller than 10 mm are rejected and removed.

• The limestone larger than 50 mm goes to the Rotary impact crusher where it is further reduced to less than 75 mm and sent to surge hopper by belt conveyor for pile preparation.

• The limestone of larger than 10 mm from secondary screen plant is then added to this mixture.

• The plant’s cross belt analyzer has the world’s best combination of CBA and CAN technologies to provide online quality control for limestone. Wonder cement is the first company to introduce this technology in India.

• Another characteristic feature of this limestone is low alkali, low magnesia and low chloride content, which are highly desirable parameters for concrete durability.

LIMESTONE GRINDING • The job of grinding is done by the Vertical Roller Mill, which works like a cyclone to create a fine dust of evenly sized particles.

• The company’s vertical roller mill has been supplied by Pfeiffer, Germany. The grinding table rotates at 21 rpm and the mill has a capacity of 550 tons per hour.

In the mill, the feed consisting of Limestone and • additives is ground between a horizontal grinding table and three rollers, which are pressed against the grinding table.

ENERGY CONSERVATION This particular cement unit has a 40 MW captive power plant.

In addition, the company is constructing 18 MW waste heat recovery system (WHS) to meet the power requirement of its recently completed second unit. This (WHS) plant will be installed by Thermax and ThyseenKrupp.

The company is also in the process of B using industrial waste as a source of fuel for cement production In addition, the company is also planning to add another 40 MW plant purely based on the petcoke at the cost of INR 180 crore.

On thermal energy, the company claims that they are better off and rate themselves as "good", says Mr Pradeep Kumar Jain, DGM (QC & Env), “our thermal energy consumption is 690 kcal per kg of clinker. However, on electrical energy, we still need to improve the performance.”

EFFORTS ON CLINKERIZATION At present, on clinkerization, the company is running its plant at 58-59 kWh/tons. The company’s short-term focus is to reach 55 kWh/tons of clinkerization in the next 2-3 months and in the long term to 50 kWh/tons. For cement grinding, presently the company is operating at 35 kWh/tons and want to achieve 30 kWh/tons. “Our immediate attention is the optimization of electrical energy,” Jain said.

Source: CW Group

• Hot air pushes upward from underneath, creating a whirlwind of particles that rises along the periphery of the mill.

• The finest particles pass through a separator into the mill compartment at the top, while the heavier particles descend again to the table for further grinding.

2828JANUARY JANUARY / FEBRUARY - FEBRUARY 2016 2016

INDIA INDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

CEMENT GRINDING

Pre-heater section of Wonder Cement plant

• In the final manufacturing stage, gypsum is measured and added to the clinker in order to yeild the final product.

• The final manufacturing stage occurs in our two combined-circuit grinding ball mills where the clinker is mixed into a fine powder with 4-6 percent gypsum.

(Gypsum is responsible for retarding the setting time and increasing the workability of cement) • After first passing the mixture through a roller press it enters the single chamber ball mill, where 155 metric tons of tiny steel balls carry out the fine grinding.

• The company use closed-circuit grinding process to obtain a very finely ground cement.

• A size particle range of 3 to 30 microns results in the most efficient hydration of cement and better strength properties, including more late strength.

Source: CW Group

PRE-HEATING/ PRE-CALCINER CLINKERIZATION • In this stage, extreme heat is applied to the mixture, causing a series of chemical processes to form new compounds known as 'clinker minerals‘.

• The raw material first passes through the 6-stage ILC preheater before entering the rotary kiln, where the mixture reaches its burning point and eventually undergoes a chemical transformation.

• Wonder Cement plant has a 75 meters long and 5 meters diameter rotary kiln supplied by Polysius Thyssenkrupp, Germany for manufacturing clinker.

• The temperature in the burning zone is usually 1,4001,450 degrees Celsius and the residence time in the kiln is about 15 minutes.

Wonder Cemet robo laboratory

• Clinker formed in the rotary kiln is cooled inside the Polytrack cooler from 1,450 degrees Celsius to around 110 degrees Celsius, and then it is stored in the clinker silo.

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INDIA INDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE JANUARY JANUARY - FEBRUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 2016

FEATURE

Expectation guidelines on India petcoke for early 2016

Imported petcoke p in India fall 3%+ 30 JANUARY 30 JANUARY / FEBRUARY - FEBRUARY 2016 2016INDIAINDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

rices

Source: chicagomag.com

31 31

INDIA INDIA CEMENT CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MATERIALS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE JANUARY JANUARY - FEBRUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 2016

FEATURE January prices of highsulfur imported petcoke fall by more than 3 percent MoM for both CFR East and West coasts of India

J

anuary prices of high-sulfur imported petcoke fall by more than 3 percent MoM for both CFR East and West coasts of India, according to CW Research’s January update of India Petcoke CFR price assessment.

Meanwhile, the price of mid-sulfur imported petcoke decreased by less than 1 percent MoM in both regions.

The monthly update sees the average cost of burning high sulfur petcoke on per unit of calorific value basis at a discount of more than 25 percent as compared to Richards Bay coal.

“US refineries are currently running at high throughput rates, due to low oil prices and good refinery margins. This is resulting in a large inventory of petcoke at the refineries creating an environment of oversupply in the market.” said Sushmita Rai, Sr. Associate Analyst, CW Group in Mumbai, India office.

Petcoke transportation utility Source: ibtimes.com

India’s imports of uncalcined petcoke exceeded 0.5 million tons in December 2015

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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

India’s imports of uncalcined petcoke exceeded 0.5 million tons in December 2015. Petcoke imports from Saudi Arabia and the US combined accounted for 91.0 percent of the total imports in the same period. As regards to freight rates for bulk shipments, both remain relatively unchanged as compared to last month.

Notably, Indian cement companies are reporting higher profits due to falling raw materials costs, triggered by lower coal and petcoke prices. This trend is expected to continue in the coming quarters.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

ABOUT CW RESEARCH CW Research is a leader in syndicated and data-driven market research solutions. The company offers independent perspectives on multiple industrial market segments (e.g., Cement, metals & minerals, and specialty chemicals) and deep functional expertise in market intelligence, sourcing intelligence, commodity pricing intelligence.

Petcoke imports from Saudi Arabia and the US represent 91.0 percent of the total imports in the same period

CW Research also provides custom industry and competitive research programs for operating companies, financial analysts, consultants, governments, suppliers and many others as well as tailored studies together with CW Advisory.

Our team operates in the USA, India, Brazil, Portugal and Romania.

For more information: research.cwgrp.com

ABOUT THE REPORT India Petcoke CFR is CW Research’s bi-monthly price assessment and monthly price index for India uncalcined petcoke.

The updates cover two key price markers: India East Coast and India West Coast, providing prompt, end-user centric CFR prices for high and medium sulfur grades. Drawing on its deep expertise in the petcoke sector and other industrial segments, CW Research takes an end-user centric approach to understand pricing and underlying drivers.

Heating unit of plant

The report is part of India Petcoke CFR Price Assessments that complement other CW Research’s price assessment product series providing regional insights for end-user centric pricing information for gray cement and clinker.

Source: metso.com

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

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33

CW Research

French cement demand expanded by 5.6 percent year-on-year in December 2015.

Despite the encouraging year-on-year increase seen in November and December 2015, cement demand in France remained subdued in 2015 as compared to the previous year. The slow pace of construction activity growth is keeping cement demand below the previous years.

Germany also saw cement demand improve in December 2015 on a year-on-year basis while the year-to-date volume remained below that of 2014.

While the second half of the year resulted in higher volumes of cement dispatches in the local market, it could not offset the steep decline experienced in the first half of the year. . As such, demand for cement fell by 1.9 percent year-on-year in 2015.

the previous year, the outlook for the sector is bleak as the steep decrease in value of governmental projects to the private sector will take its toll on the cement market. Cement production grew at a marginally higher pace than demand affecting the market. Furthermore, the Saudi Arabian cement sector is dealing with challenges driven by reduction of fuel subsides, ongoing weak oil prices and expected budget deficits.

In Thailand, cement demand expanded by 1.0 percent year-on-year in the month of December, but the overall results for 2015 were 1.1 percent below the previous years. Cement makers in Thailand expanded their output by 9.4 percent year-on-year in December 2015, while the January-December 2015 volume was 2.0 percent below the aggregate volume of cement output in 2014. Going forward, cement demand is expected to recover due to government (which traditionally accounts for a third of cement demand) spending and stabilizing demand from the private sector. Government demand is expected to be driven by mass transit project launches and smaller scale stimulus projects.

Although cement demand in Saudi Arabia increased by 8.7 percent in 2015 as compared to

The Chinese market is definitely seeing the outcomes of eliminating backwards capacity and addressing environmental concerns. The Chinese market is experiencing the outcome of policies that shutdown old and inefficient cement plants as well as implementation of tougher environmental regulationsProduction volumes for the building material have been falling this year. As such, cement output fell by 4.9 percent in 2015 as compared to the previous year.

Cement Demand December 2015 – YoY change (%)

Cement Production December 2015 – YoY change (%)

30%

60%

20%

50%

10%

40% 30%

0%

20%

-10%

Source: CW Research

Source: CW Research

To learn more, please contact the CW Research team at sales@cwgrp.com or +1-702-866-9474

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INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Japan

China

Thailand

0% -10%

Saudi Arabia

Ecuador

Brazil

Japan

Morocco

Thailand

Indonesia

Saudi Arabia

Germany

France

10% Pakistan

-20%

Vietnam

In Thailand, cement demand expanded by 1.0 percent year-on-year in the month of December, but the overall results for 2015 were 1.1 percent below the previous years..

Pakistani cement demand increased by 19.3 percent in December 2015 as compared to the previous year. Despite the steep rise in cement consumption in the local market, sales in foreign markets remained subdued, affecting the total growth in cement dispatches. Pakistan’s cement makers have faced declining export volumes to Afghanistan and India and the imposition of an import duty by South Africa on Pakistani cement. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association is currently seeking ways to work with the government and address the steep fall in foreign sales. Despite recent challenges, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is expected to boost the local cement industry.

Ukraine

CEMENT MARKETS

CEMENT VOLUMES

CW Research

CEMENT PRODUCTION (million tons) Country

LM

MoM (%)

CEMENT CONSUMPTION (million tons) YoY (%)

YTD

YTD (%)

Country

LM

MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

CEMENT PRODUCTION MOM (%)

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

LM

YTD (%)

CEMENT CONSUMPTION MOM (%)

CEMENT EXPORTS (million tons) Country

CEMENT MARKETS

Volume variation analysis for selected countries that are major consumers, producer, importers and exporters of cement. This is a selection of notable markets. Additional detail is available from CW Research as well as on-line at http://www.cemweek.com to the market data section.

CEMENT IMPORTS (million tons) MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

YTD (%)

Country

LM

MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

YTD (%)

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE CEMENT EXPORTS MOM (%)

CEMENT IMPORTS MOM (%)

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

Source: CW Group analysis estimates MoM: month vs previous month; YoY: month vs same month last year; YTD: year-to-date; YTD%: year-to-date vs previous year

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35

CEMENT ENERGY MARKETS

CW Research

ENERGY PRICES UPDATE COAL: The average coal price for January 2016 closed at $52.04 per ton, falling 24 percent YoY as

compared to January 2015’s price of $68.60 per ton. It decreased slightly by 2 percent as compared to December 2015’s price of $53.25 per ton.

STEAM COAL FOB AVERAGE PRICES (US$/TON) US exported

Colombia exported

Australia Newcastle

Indonesian HBA

South Africa Richards Bay

130 120 110 100 90 80

Global trading volumes increased to 81.97 million tons in October 2015, increasing 1.6 percent in comparison with 80.71 million tons recorded in September 2015.

70 60 50

Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan ’12 ’12 ’12 ’12 ’12 ’12 ’13 ’13 ’13 ’13 ’13 ’13 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’15 ’15 ’15 ’15 ’15 ’15 ’16

Sources: EIA, Colombia Ministry of Mines and Energy, IMF, Indonesia Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resouces

COAL TRADING VOLUMES: Global trading volumes increased to 81.97 million tons in October 2015, increasing 1.6 percent in comparison with 80.71 million tons recorded in September 2015. An increase in coal trading volumes was observed in Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and the US, whereas Colombia and Russia showed some decline in coal trading volumes.

PETCOKE: US petcoke exports decreased 8 percent to 2.67 million tons in October 2015 as compared to the previous month, and down 0.6 percent as compared to October 2014. The US export price for petcoke for October 2015 closed at $50.17 per ton, decreasing 15 percent as compared to September’s price of $59.11 per ton and down 26 percent as compared to October 2014’s price of $67.92 per ton.

STEAM COAL FOB AVERAGE PRICES (US$/TON) monthly price 90 80

Rolling 12-month average

70 60 50 40 30 20

O ‘15

S ‘15

J ‘15

A ‘15

J ‘15

M ‘15

A ‘15

F ‘15

M ‘15

J ‘15

D ‘14

N ‘14

S ‘14

O ‘14

A‘14

J ‘14

J ‘14

A ‘14

M ‘14

M ‘14

J ‘14

F ‘14

D ‘13

N ‘13

0

O ‘13

10

Source: customs data

NATURAL GAS: The US Henry Hub spot price traded at $2.28 per MMBTU in January 2016, increasing 18 percent as compared to December 2015’s price of $1.93

per MMBTU and down 24 percent as compared to January 2015’s price of $2.99 per MMBTU. Price in Europe decreased by12 percent MoM, reaching $5.35 per MMBTU in January 2016.

To learn more, please contact the CW Research team at sales@cwgrp.com or +1-702-866-9474

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INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

Volume variation analysis for selected countries that are major importers and exporters of coal and petcoke. This is a selection of notable markets. Additional detail is available from CW Research as well as on-line at http://www.coalweek.com/ to the market data section.

COAL - EXPORTS (million tons) - Oct 2015 Country

LM

MoM (%)

PETCOKE - EXPORTS (million tons) - Oct 2015 YoY (%)

YTD

YTD %

Country

LM

MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

YTD %

CEMENT ENERGY MARKETS

CW Research

COAL EXPORTS MOM (%) US PETCOKE EXPORTS PRICES MOM (%)

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

COAL - IMPORTS (million tons) - Oct 2015 Country

LM

MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

YTD %

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

PETCOKE - GLOBAL EXPORT PRICES (USD/ton) - Oct 2015 Country

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE LM

MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION. WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE COAL EXPORT PRICES MOM (%)

MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

YTD %

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

COAL - GLOBAL EXPORT PRICES (USD/ton) - Jan 2015 Country

LM

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

YTD %

NATURAL GAS PRICES (US$/mmBtu) - Jan 2015 Country

LM

MoM (%)

YoY (%)

YTD

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

YTD %

NATURAL GAS PRICES MOM (%)

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

TABLE AVAILABLE IN THE CEMWEEK MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION.

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

WWW.CEMWEEK.COM/SUBSCRIBE

Source: CW Group analysis estimates LM: latest month Jan 2016 except where specified; MoM: month vs previous month; YoY: month vs same month last year; YTD: year-to-date; YTD%: year-to-date vs previous year

To learn more, please contact the CW Research team at sales@cwgrp.com or +1-702-866-9474 INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

37

CEMENT MARKET AND COMPETITION

M

arket and competition

SOUTH INDIAN CEMENT COMPANIES WITNESS GROWTH IN Q3 South Indian cement companies have managed to increase the cement realization in the past four quarters. As compared to South India, other parts of the country have witnessed lower cement realizations. After struggling with over capacity for a long time, South-based cement companies have increased cement prices due to scope of new demand after creation of two new states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

It is expected that, the two states combined, may have an incremental demand of about 23 million tons, which is higher than the peak cement cycle of united Andhra Pradesh (20 million tons). Meanwhile, the cement utilization in the South is in the range of 55-58 percent as compared to 80 percent in the rest of the country. As a result, the cement prices in the South have surged by INR 20-50 per kg bag in the September quarter.

In the Western India, cement prices have increased in the range of INR 20-40 per 50 kg bag. Cement prices in North, East and Central region have either, remained unchanged or slumped due to weak demand.

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LAFARGE PLANS TO EXIT INDIA OPERATIONS Lafarge India has submitted a revised proposal to the Competition Commission of India to sell its 11 million tons assets in India. The company has plans to sell 5.15 million tons of cement capacity in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to Birla Corp for INR 5,000 crore (INR 50 billion), which has now ran into trouble.

M P Birla Group Company was facing challenges in securing limestone mining rights for the two units. In India, Holcim, through its control of Ambuja Cement and ACC, have 60 million tons of capacity. On the other hand, Lafarge has a capacity of 11

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

million tons in India, of which 7.8 million tons (70 per cent) are in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

A merger would have led to a capacity of 18.5 million tons in the eastern states for Holcim-Lafarge, which would have been more than 40 per cent of the estimated 46 million tons of total capacity in the region.

This led to a scrutiny by the Competition Commission of India. The Competition Commission of India had asked Lafarge India to sell its 5.15 million tons capacity in eastern India by December 31 to complete its global merger.

INDIA’S CEMENT SECTOR MAY BENEFIT FROM INDIA-PAKISTAN TRADE RELATIONS

INDIA WITNESSES SLUGGISH GROWTH IN CEMENT PRODUCTION India’s cement production growth until October 2015 has not reached even half way as compared to the last year’s numbers. Cement demand has been sluggish due to subdued growth in the realty market and seasonal uncertainty.

India’s total installed capacity is around 360 million tons per annum.

However, the cement industry is not operating at optimal capacity due to lower demand. During the 2015 financial year, cement production increased by 8.35 percent to 270.93 million tons and dispatches increased by 4.07 percent to 258.46 million tons.

The on-going talks between India and Pakistan for trade relations may benefit the cement sector. According to industrial survey, informal trade flows between the two countries is expected to be USD 4.71 billion in 2013-14. Out of this, India’s exports to Pakistan are estimated to be USD 3.99 billion and imports from Pakistan USD 0.72 billion. Imports from Pakistan to India include cement among other items. The reason for informal trade is high transaction costs of trading and the consignment covering longer routes to reach its destination. A move towards trade normalization would reduce the transaction cost and shift informal trade flows to formal channels.

INDIA: GLOBAL PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS JOIN THE RACE TO ACQUIRE R-INFRA’S ASSETS Global private equity funds, including Carlyle, Blackstone, Baring and China Resorce Cement are in the fray to acquire the cement business of Reliance Infrastructure. Local cement firms, including JK Lakshami Cements, Birla Corp and JSW Cement are also in the list of bidders. The present valuation of the cement plant is around INR 5,000 crore, with around 5.6 million tons per annum cement assets. If the deal goes

through, it would be this year’s second biggest in the India’s cement sector. The seven companies were selected from 15 potential buyers who submitted a preliminary expression of interest. In FY2014-15, Reliance Infrastructure's cement business posted a net loss of INR 114 crore on sales of INR 541 crore. Reliance Infrastructure has taken a conscious decision to sell its cement assets to focus on defence business.

LIMESTONE EXTRACTION TO BE INCREASED IN ADHRA PRADESH, INDIA Indian cement producer Jaypee Cement is now allowed to increase limestone extraction from Andhra Pradesh, India.

Maximum extraction will be expanded from 3.47 million tons per annum to 6 million tons per annum. This will cost around INR 95 crore. This increase in

production at the Budhawada mine will help fulfill the demand from the cement plant located in the same village, which requires 5 million tons per annum.

The approval was given after an examination made by the Environment Ministry, and requires the company to minimize pollution of the nearby river. Currently, Jaypee Cement has a total capacity of 27.90 million tons per annum on Indian soil.

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39

CEMENT M&A AND FINANCE

M

&a and finance

INDIA’S ULTRATECH CEMENT EXPECTS MARGIN IMPROVEMENT IN 2H2016 India-based UltraTech Cement’s EBITDA margin increased by two percent to 18.4 percent. The analysts have a positive outlook on the company’s performance, despite subdued organic volume growth. The company’s profit improved due to cost-efficiency measures, a 2.8 percent volume growth (due to acquisition) and a 1.2 percent year on year increase in the average selling price per ton.

In addition, the company benefited from strong cement prices in the South India region. The company improved its profit in the quarter ended September 2015, due to commissioning of a new waste heat recovery plant, increased usage of petcoke and acquisition of JaiPrakash Cement.

CRH IN A FRAY TO ACQUIRE LAFARGE INDIA’S CEMENT ASSETS Dublin-based CRH is in a fray to acquire assets of Lafarge India. Lafarge India’s cement business has an annual capacity of 11 million tons. During the last year, the Irish company acquired assets worth USD 7 billion as Holcim and Lafarge divested assets worldwide, to meet anti-trust regulations to complete their global merger.

The merger between Holcim and Lafarge India operations would have led to a capacity of 18.5 million tons in the eastern estates. However, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) asked Lafarge India to sell its 5.5 million tons capacity in eastern India by December 31st, 2016, to complete the global merger.

INDIA’S PRISM CEMENT’S NET LOSS WIDENS IN 2QFY16 India-based Prism Cement posted a standalone net loss of INR 33.26 crore in the quarter ended September 2015, as compared to INR 19.76 crore in the same period in 2014. Meanwhile, the company’s standalone income increased by five percent to INR 1,398.34 crore in the quarter, as compared to INR 1,337.19 crore in the previous year’s same period.

Prism Cement sold 134,500 tons of cement and clinker during the second quarter of 2015-16, as compared to 129,200 tons

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In India, Holcim, through its subsidiary of Ambuja Cement and ACC has 60 million tons of capacity. Lafarge has a capacity of 11 million tons in India, of which 7.8 million tons are in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. However, the bidding for the Lafarge assets is expected to be a tough one, as several other companies including Birla Corp, JSW Cement and private equity firms including Blackstone are in the fray.

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during the same quarter, a year before.

"The company had taken various cost rationalization measures in 2014-15 such as resorting to imported coal, increase in imported pet coke consumption, reduction in power consumption among others,” said an official from the company.

The cement company has a “challenging” outlook for the Indian cement sector.

However, the company expects government initiatives for housing, smart cities and infrastructure development to boost cement demand.

CEMENT CAPACITY IS LIKELY TO INCREASE OVER THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS Eastern India is likely to witness an oversupply of cement, reports The Economic Times.

INDIA’S SHREE CEMENT TO ACQUIRE JAYPEE’S CEMENT ASSETS

Jaypee Cement. The negotiations are still on and the deal is likely to be finalized at INR 1,700 crore.

India-based Shree Cement is planning to acquire Jaypee Cement’s plants—Bhilai Jaypee Cement—in Bhillai, Madhya Pradesh, India. The former has signed a memorandum of understanding with

The move will help Shree Cement to expand its market presence in Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, the acquisition is likely to reduce Manoj Gaur-led Jaypee’s debt of INR 35,000 crore.

Around 8.6 million tons of new capacity estimated to be added in the next two fiscal years would take the total capacity in the eastern region to 66.9 million tons. The per capita consumption of cement is also likely to increase to 200 kg from the current 90 kg, in case the companies set up new production lines in the region.

INDIA’S RINFRA TO FINALIZE CEMENT ASSET SALE THIS WEEK India’s Reliance Infrastructure will be selling debt ridden cement assets for whopping INR 26 billion (USD 394 million). It is expected that RInfra will finalize the deal by this week. RInfra, currently owns three cement plants with a cumulative capacity of 5.8 million tons per annum. The company is also constructing a five mtpa cements plant in

INDIA’S JAYPEE GROUP TO SELL CEMENT BUSINESS

61,285 crore debt in 2014-15, down from INR 72,599 crore in 2013-14. The sale is expected to be concluded by March 2016.

India’s third largest cement producer, Jaypee Group, is planning to sell its cement arm for INR 19,500 crore. Two private equity firms are in the fray to acquire Jaypee’s business unit. The proceeds will be used by Jaiprakash Associates to retire a part of its INR

The group is not alone in the selling assets to repay debt. Several Indian groups, including Essar, Videocon, Lanco, GMR, GVK and Reliance Infra are selling assets as lenders exert pressure for timely repayment.

the Western part of Maharashtra, India.

However, with the acquisition, the buyer will also take over the outstanding debt of INR 24 billion. It is believed that a consortium of private equity firms is likely to be declared as the successful bidder. The company has already shortlisted seven bidders for the sale of their cement assets.

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41

CEMENT PROJECTS AND EXPANSIONS

P

rojects and expansions

LAFARGEHOLCIM TO INCREASE PRODUCTION OF LIMESTONE IN INDIA LafargeHolcim is planning to boost its limestone production at it mines in Meghalaya’s East Khasi hills in India. The company plans to increase production from two to five million tons per year. The company also plans to export limestone. In 2009, the company had applied to Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for environmental clearance.

Meghalaya-based Lafarge Umiam, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bangladesh-based Lafarge Surma Cement, exports two million tons of limestone mined at Nongtrai to Lafarge Surma Cement’s Chattak Unit in Bangladesh.

INDIA’S ACC TO BEGIN CEMENT BRICK-MAKING PLANTS India-based ACC plans to open brickmaking units in partnership with dealers and social organizations. According to Danish Rashid, Head of Business Development, “ACC will provide the expertise and technical support, while the JV would own and operate the units.”

Meanwhile, each cement brick-making plant will entail an investment of around INR 2-2.6 crore. As per the JV agreement, the proposed brick units have to source cement from ACC, which has opened 19 brick units largely in the northern and eastern part of India.

CEMENT PRODUCERS FROM INDIA REUSE HAZARDOUS WASTE Hazardous (and non-hazardous) waste is being increasingly used by cement manufactures in India. This so-called sludge has an high calorific value and, if incinerated at 1800 degrees, the hazardous solvents completely disappear.

The UltraTech Cement Works at Reddipalayam pioneered the co-processing of hazardous wastes, which began with 22,272 tons in 2012-13, has this year till November processed 43,718 tons of waste.

The move is being encouraged by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, with

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The company plans to set up another 26 such units in the next seven months. “The brick units have opened the doors to new sales channel in a few places with each unit consuming about 100 tons of cement a month,” says Rashid.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

trials being done in Chettinad Cements and India Cements. The waste burning is conducted in a process that involves close-controlled processes, elaborate feed preparation, pre-processing and blending facilities, and handling feeding systems.

INDIA: TATA’S ARM DISPATCHES FLY-ASH TO ASSAM

INDIA’S JSW GROUP PLANS TO INCREASE ITS CEMENT BUSINESS

"It is the philosophy of the group to be among the top three in the country," said Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group.

India-based JSW Group is planning to increase its market share in the cement business. The company has initiated talks with Lafarge to acquire its cement assets.

Lafarge owns cement manufacturing capacity of around 11 million tons in India. If the deal is finalized, JSW’s capacity would increase from six million tons to 17 million tons at one stroke.

The company is also in talk with Jaypee Group to acquire its entire cement business of 20-22 million tons. "No acquisition or expansion would be taken up unless they were valued-accretive and contribute to the bottom line. I do not find any constraints in funding good acquisitions or expansions," he added.

INDIAN CEMENT MAKERS WANT TO BOOST USAGE OF BLENDED CEMENT Indian cement manufacturers need to increase the usage of blended cement.

Using the cement will ensure sustainable use of gradually depleting limestone deposits in the country. According to a recent forecast, the availability of limestone deposits in the country would be until 2040. Several countries including USA, China and Japan as well as European countries have implemented measures for sustainable use of natural resources. “The onus was on (about) the community of civil engineers to use blended cement in the interests of future generations,” said Sandeep Singh Sandhu, Associate VicePresident, JSW Cements, Hyderabad, India. There is a need to increase awareness amongst the builders to increase the use of cement with additives. At present, the cement with additives is being used in metro cities in the country.

India-based Tata Power’s arm, Maithon Power, Radhanagar, India, has announced the dispatch of the first rake of fly ash to Assam, through railway. With this, the total dispatch from Radhanagar now stands at 2,125 tons of fly-ash. According to the company, the main purpose of the initiative is efficient management of flyash around the plant. The fly ash from Maithon Power’s main silo 4 was packed in bags via the manual ash bagging system, designed and fabricated in-house, it was transported to the siding in lorries and dispatched to the cement manufacturing unit in Assam through rail mode.

INDIA TO INCREASE CEMENT PRODUCTION CAPACITY CEMENT Indian cement companies are expected to increase their capacities during 20152018. According to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, an incremental capacity of 68.5 million tons per annum is slated for completion during 2015-18.

About 60 percent of the total upcoming capacity (40.5 million tons per annum) is expected to be completed in the ongoing financial year. Of this, a capacity of 23.8 million tons per annum has been already completed.

The projects will involve investment of around INR 27,960 crore, which is expected to increase steadily to 474 million tons per annum by March 2018.

Around 18.1 million tons per annum of capacity is expected to come up in fiscal year 2016/17 and another 9.9 million tons per annum in the following year.

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43

CEMENT PROJECTS AND EXPANSIONS BANGLADESH’S MI CEMENT TO EXPAND ITS BUSINESS Bangladesh-based MI Cement plans to become the top manufacturer of construction material in Bangladesh in the next five years, reports The Daily Star.

The cement company is planning to invest a substantial amount of funds for expansion activities.

HOLCIM SRI LANKA TO TRANSPORT COAL BY RAILWAY Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved a deal between cement multinational Holcim Lanka and the state railway to transport coal by rail from the eastern port of Trincomalee, reports Economy Group.

Under the deal, coal imported from

Holcim, will be sent by railways from the China Bay in Trincomalee to the Mahawa railway station. The coal will be transported in containers by special trains for Holcim.

Holcim has a cement plant in Puttalam, west of Mahawa, where it uses coal to generate power for its kiln.

At present, the company’s production capacity is around 6,000 tons, a day.

Going further, the company has plans to increase the capacity to 10,000 tons by December, next year and subsequently, to 16,000 tons by 2020.

“MI Cement, which is among the top five cement companies in Bangladesh, aims to secure the number one position in terms of both production volume and market share,” said Alamgir Kabir, additional managing director of MI Cement.

“Quality will also be a major factor, as people are now concerned about quality and understand the components used in cement manufacturing,” he added.

INDIA CEMENTS RECORDS STEEP FALL IN SALES Tamil Nadu-based India Cements records a steep decline in cement sales, which declined due to excessive rainfall in November and December. The company expects the re-building activities in the next year to compensate for the current losses in sales. Last year, the company’s total cement exports and clinker amounted to 500,000 tons and the company expects to boost its exports to Sri Lanka. Going forward, the company will retain focus on cutting costs and improve its margin.

It expects performance to be better during the fourth quarter of current financial year. India Cements posted a profit before tax of INR 117 crore in the first six months of current financial year while net profits were at INR 81 crore.

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INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

CEMENTVOLUME & PRICING

V

olume and pricing

INDIA CEMENTS EXPECT A SURGE IN DEMAND IN AP AND TELANGANA The cement company has a positive outlook, despite depressed cement demand in South India. The cement company has maintained its thurst on cutting costs, improving operational costs, maintaining high quality of products. “This approach, along with the better price realization, has resulted in a higher operating profit (EBIDTA) of INR 431.26 crore during the six month period ending September 30, 2015, against INR 349.70 crore in the same period, last year,” said Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director of India Cements.

During the first half of the current fiscal, total sales volume, including clinker and exports stood at 42.64 lakh tons compared with 49.09 lakh tons, a year ago. The company will continue to take measures to improve margins and will reduce debt further. The company hopes to see better capacity utilization in this year.

CW RESEARCH: INDIA DECEMBER MONTH-ONMONTH GREEN PETCOKE IMPORTS CONTINUE TO FALL According to CW Research, India’s imports of uncalcined petcoke slightly exceeded 0.5 million tons in December 2015 with cement companies representing 80+ percent of purchases. The monthly import volume represents a double-digit decline over November’s imports and up 3 percent compared with the past year’s period. Indian uncalcined petcoke imports totaled 0.62 million tons in November 2015, while the country imported more than half million tons of uncalcined petcoke in December 2014. “Demand for imported petcoke has seen a decline due to the availability of less expensive domestic product. Indian domestic refiners have reduced their prices significantly, which is giving tough competition to its imported counterpart," said Sushmita

Rai, Sr. Associate Analyst, CW Group. In December, the largest exporter of fuelgrade petcoke to India was Saudi Arabia at 0.28 million tons, followed by the US at 0.22 million tons. Other exporters included China, South Africa and Kuwait. Petcoke imports by cement companies comprised about 82 percent of the total petcoke volume imported in India in the month of December. In comparison, petcoke imports by cement industry comprised 55 percent in November. Petcoke traders / producers and suppliers accounted for 14 percent and paper, glass and steel companies for the remaining 4 percent of the total imports.

Petcoke imports at Kandla and Visakhapatnam ports together accounted for 74 percent of the total Indian petcoke imports in December. Paradip and Krishnapatnam accounted for 14 percent and 9 percent respectively. The remaining 3 percent was imported at other ports including Tuticorin, Goa and Nhava Sheva.

INDIA CEMENTS RECORDS STEEP FALL IN SALES Tamil Nadu-based India Cements records a steep decline in cement sales, which declined due to excessive rainfall in November and December. The company expects the re-building activities in the next year to compensate for the current losses in sales. Last year, the company’s total cement exports and clinker amounted to 500,000 tons and the company expects to boost its exports to Sri Lanka. Going forward, the company will retain focus on cutting costs and improve its margin. It expects performance to be better during the fourth quarter of current financial year. India Cements posted a profit before tax of INR 117 crore in the first six months of current financial year while net profits were at INR 81 crore.

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45

CEMENT PEOPLE

P

eople

INDIA’S GRASIM INDUSTRIES APPOINTS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR Mumbai-based Grasim Industries has appointed Dilip Gaur as Managing Director of the company. Dilip Gaur will join the position from April 1, 2016. He will replace KK Maheswari, who takes charge as a new Managing Director of UltraTech Cements. However, he will remain on the company’s Board as a nonexecutive director. Dilip Gaur has held several managerial positions at several levels for 20 years prior to joining Aditya Birla Board as a non-executive director.

Grasim Industries Limited is an Indian building materials manufacturing company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was

INDIA’S AMBUJA CEMENTS APPOINTS NEW CFO India-based Ambuja Cements has appointed Suresh Joshi as its Chief Financial Officer. The new appointee will manage the position from February 1, 2016. In September, Ambuja Cement’s CFO Sanjay Churiwala resigned and the board accepted his resignation in November 16 2015.

The company was looking for a suitable successor and until then the company’s

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started in 1948 as a textile manufacturer.

Since then Grasim has diversified into Viscose Staple Fiber, cement, sponge iron and chemicals. The company is a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group, which operates over 40 companies in 12 countries on four continents. The Aditya Birla Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate named after Aditya Vikram Birla, headquartered in the Aditya Birla Centre in Worli, Mumbai, India.

It operates in 40 countries with more than 120 000 employees worldwide. UltraTech Cement Limited is India's biggest cement company and India’s largest exporter of cement clinker based in Mumbai, India.

The company is part of the Aditya Birla Group and division of Grasim Industries.

It has an annual capacity of 64 million tons.

Joint President-Corporate Controlling, Sanjay Khajanchi was serving as an interim CFO. Ambuja Cements Ltd, a part of a global conglomerate Holcim, is one of India’s leading cement manufacturers and has completed over 25 years of operations.

The company, initially called Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd, was founded by Narotam Sekhsaria in 1983 in partnership with Suresh Neotia. Global cement major Holcim acquired management control of Ambuja in 2006. The Company has also made strategic investments in ACC Limited.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

BOARD MEETINGS ANNOUNCING NEW APPOINTMENTS Panyam Cements & Mineral Industries Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on February 01, 2016, to review the operations of the Company and to consider and appoint Trustees for the proposed Debentures.

Also Shiva Cement Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on January 18, 2016, inter alia, to approve appointment of the Merchant Bankers/Financial Advisors for negotiating with Strategic Investors for expansion plans of the Company.

IDBI Bank appoints as nominee director on India Cements board.

Rabinarayan Panda replaces Mr. Nagaraj Garla, with effect from December 29, 2015. India Cements Limited is a cement manufacturing company established in 1946 by S. N. N. Sankaralinga. It has seven manufacturing plants in India with an annual capacity of 9 million tons. Sankar, Coramandel and Raasi Gold are the brands owned by India Cements.

REGIONAL NEWS

R

egional news CHINA’S SHANDONG SHANSHUI CEMENT LIKELY TO DEFAULT ANOTHER BOND

PAKISTAN RECORDS MASSIVE DECLINE IN CEMENT EXPORTS Pakistan’s cement sector recorded a 25.68 percent decline in cement exports to 3.01 million tons in the first half of the fiscal year 2015 as compared to 4.06 million tons in the same period of the previous year.

The North based plants registered a decline of 25.09 percent in exports to 1.9 million tons in the first six months of the current fiscal year 2015 as compared to 2.54 million tons during the same period a year earlier.

The South based plants witnessed a decline of 26.67 percent in exports to 1.11 million tons in the first six months of the fiscal year 2015 as compared to

1.52 million tons in the same period of the earlier year. However, the demand of cement increased by 10.53 percent to 3.44 million tons in December 2015 as compared to 3.11 million tons in the same period a year earlier. According to All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, the government is struggling to curb the illegal cement imports.

The Association stressed on the need for a vigilance and accountability systems to curb the cement smuggling in Pakistan.

China-based Shandong Shanshui Cement is likely to default another bond payment, which is maturing soon. The company might be unable to pay interests and principal on a CNY 1.8 billion (USD 277.64 million) medium-term note, maturing in January, 2016.

The company has already defaulted on a bond payment in November.

The company is a subsidiary of the China Shanshui Cement Group. In 2015, defaults have increased amongst onshore Chinese companies in the heavy industrial sector, mainly steel and cement.

PAKISTAN’S FICCI CONCERNED OVER HIGH PRICES OF CEMENT The cartelization in building materials is likely to have negative impact (CW Group) Pakistan's Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed concerns over high prices of cement and other construction materials, reports Pakistan Observer.

The cartelization of cement manufacturers has become a stumbling block to reduce the

prices of other construction materials. Also the decrease in international oil prices are creating major setback for the cement prices.

According to the officials, the cement manufacturers have created an artificial shortage of cement in the market to maintain the existing prices in the market; otherwise, the prices must have dropped by 25 percent of its existing price.

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ORDERS & EQUIPMENT HIGHLIGHTS

O

rders & equipment

FLSMIDTH DESIGNS A NEW CLASSIFIER PLANT Global engineering company FLSmidth has developed the REFLUX classifier plant. The new equipment is suitable for fine gravity separation, as it is easy to install and commission on site in a relatively short period.

The new technology, effectively improves the performance of gravity separation circuits, over existing technologies, such as spirals and hydrosizers. According to the FLSmidth, typically, the modular fines separation plant will include pumps, screens, dewatering equipment, cyclones and conveyors.

The entire module of RC plant is automated, using advanced instrumentation and controls.

All process parameters are monitored to ensure optimum performance. And, it allows for more consistent operation and therefore better recoveries. The technology can be used in brownfield plants as well, where Reflux Classifier will be retrofitted to replace less efficient technology.

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CHINESE CEMENT EQUIPMENT MAJOR SINOMA ENTERS INDIA THROUGH ACQUISITION Sinoma International Engineering (Hong Kong), part of the Chinese state-run National Materials Group Corporation Ltd (Sinoma), has entered into the Indian cement equipment industry by acquiring a majority stake in Chennai-based cement equipment manufacturer LNV Technology Pvt Ltd (LNVT) for Rs 130 crore. Sinoma International currently occupies around 80% market share in the Chinese cement equipment industry and around 40% in the international market except China.

company and LV Technology Public Co Ltd holds around 16% equity share each in the company. V C Rao had around 51% equity share while LV Technology had 49% equity in the company before the deal.

According to the agreement, Sinoma International Engineering has a share of 68% in LNV Technology, which has become a member of the Sinoma Group, while the erstwhile joint venture partners V C Rao, managing director of the

The Chinese firm would bring in its expertise in R&D, design, manufacturing, installation and after sales service to the Indian Joint Venture, said Liu Zhijiang, group chairman, China National Materials Group Corporation Ltd (Sinoma).

NEW PLANT IN INDIA TO BE EQUIPPED BY GEBR. PFEIFFER Emami Cement is installing a new cement plant in Chhattisgarh, with the help of Gebr.

Pfeiffer supplying. Emami Cement ordered a new MVR 6000 C-6 mill to be installed in the new plant. The mill has a capacity of 335 tons per hour and consumes 6700 kW. The grinding plant will support production of fly ash cement and granulated blast-furnace slag to be ground to a fineness of 3800 cm²/g and 4000 cm²/g acc. to Blaine respectively. The new mill has 2 redundant rollers, allowing 4 rollers to continue production in case of maintenance is needed. Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply the core components of the mills and the gear units from Europe while the rest will be provided by its Indian subsidiary.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

INFRASTRUCTURE & PROJECTS

I

nfrastructure & projects

CG GROUP TO OPEN A NEW PLANT IN SRI LANKA CG Group Chairman Binod Chaudhary, the Nepalese billionaire has plans to open a cement manufacturing facility in the North East of the country. This is expected to come under the group’s CG Cement unit that would look at exploiting the potential for the increased demand for cement in the country, CG Corp Sri Lanka Chairman Tilak De Zoysa told the Business Time. The biggest focus is on cement production right now, he explained.

He noted that in view of the US$400 million worth of cement imported monthly, the

Nepalese group is looking at tapping into the possibility of manufacturing cement within the country. In this regard, plans are being drawn up to work with Danish partners and TATA Consultants to establish this facility in the country.

CG Cement Industries Pvt. Ltd. based in Nepal is a most advanced state-of-the art fully automated on that uses the latest “Closed Circuit” with Centralised Control Room monitoring technology, the company stated on its official website. The plant in Nepal has been custom designed to make it fully compact and ensures that pollution is reduced to a minimum level and produces the CG Ordinary Portland Cement and the CG Portland Pozzolana Cement, the website stated.

INDIA TAKING STEPS TO ADDRESS INFRASTRUCTURE WOES Emphasising that India is taking steps to address problems in the infrastructure sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said multiple institutions are required to meet the funding requirements in this space. Emphasising that India is taking steps to address problems in the infrastructure sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said multiple institutions are required to meet the funding requirements in this space. The finance minister also said the country has crossed that stage when change of government in power used to result in problems for an infrastructure project, adding that now the dispute resolution mechanism has been made very robust. “To

add to the comfort of the investors, we have been upgrading our laws.

I am working on a new mechanism that would do away with the requirement for going to judicial panels for resolution of dispute… It is at an early stage and it is not proper to divulge more details,” he said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting. While acknowledging that there are many problems too on the infrastructure front, Jaitley said the government is taking steps like setting up of infrastructure funds where it has also invited international institutions among others.

GOVERNMENT APPROVES HYBRID ANNUITY MODEL FOR HIGHWAY PROJECTS The government has approved the hybrid annuity model as one of the modes for implementing highway development projects. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave the goahead to the model in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under this model, 40% of the project cost is to be provided by the government as construction support to the private developer during construction and the balance 60% as annuity payments over the concession period along with interest on outstanding amount to the concessionaire. There is a separate provision for operation and management payments by the government to the concessionaire.

The private party does not have to bear traffic and inflation risks and the project cost is also inflation indexed.

Toll is collected by National Highways Authority of India.

By adopting this model as the mode of delivery, all major stakeholders will have an increased comfort level, resulting in sector revival through renewed interest of private developers in highway projects, a statement from the government said.

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INFRASTRUCTURE & PROJECTS TRANSPORTATION MINISTER SEEKS RECORD $10 BILLION FOR INDIA GROWTH PUSH

ROAD PROJECTS COVERING 10,000 KM TO BE AWARDED THIS FISCAL YEAR The government has managed to address the stress in the highways sector and road contracts are now attracting multiple bids, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. According to him, by the end of fiscal year, the government would award 10,000 km of road projects. "The government has induced a lot of liquidity in the sector and the banks have started supporting the sector.

A number of contractors has started repaying old debts. It's additionally contributing to our growth rates," Jaitley said, addressing a meeting of bankers and road developers, organised by road transport and highways ministry to sort out financing issues.

India's transport minister is seeking as much as a record 700 billion rupees ($10.3 billion) in government spending to boost road construction and spur economic growth. In addition to a more than 50 percent increase in budgetary allocations in the fiscal year starting April, Nitin Gadkari said in an interview that his ministry is also looking to borrow overseas.

In the current financial year, the government has already awarded 6,800 km of road contracts. "With such large projects being awarded, I think it's a spiral effect on steel, cement, auto sector," the finance minister said.

INDIA COULD GET MILLIONS IN INFRA PROJECTS THROUGH CHINA-LED AIIB The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was inaugurated

by President Xi Jinping amid hope that it will streamline infrastructure investments across the continent. Based in Beijing, the bank aims to disburse $1.2 billion in 2016 of which at least half, around $600 million, is expected to be pumped into infrastructure projects in India.

New Delhi has already submitted a list of infrastructure projects it wants the AIIB to fund across sectors like power, drinking water and roads. Experts have speculated that the AIIB with an authorised capital of $100 billion was China’s effort to rival the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. As of now, 57 countries including Germany, UK, Russia and South Korea have joined since the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in October, 2014 with only 19 members.

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Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei was elected as the first chairman of the AIIB council and former ADB vice-president Jin Liqun was elected as the first AIIB president. While China, with 26.06% voting shares, remains the strongest, India has 7.51% voting shares is the second largest shareholder followed by Russia with 5.93% voting shares. In real terms, India has pledged to pay $8.37 billion, 20% of the paid-up capital, which is to be paid in five instalments. Till now, New Delhi has put in $334.7 billion.

Explaining India’s role in the China-led bank, Dinesh Sharma, additional secretary, said New Delhi has been with China on the bank from the beginning. Sharma indicated that the AIIB will function parallel to the BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB), headed by veteran Indian banker KV Kamath.

INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

The overall target is 5 trillion rupees of road projects over the next three years, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritized speedier construction of highways, railways and other infrastructure since taking power in May 2014. Such public expenditure is providing an economic crutch as parts of the private sector tackle debt levels and limit investment.

"The policy of our government is giving more priority for development of infrastructure," Gadkari, 58, said in New Delhi on Tuesday. "There is no problem of investments, no problem of money. We only need to fast track our decision-making process." Gadkari is pushing for more funds as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley prepares to unveil next month the budget for the fiscal year starting April. In its previous budget, the government vowed to reinvigorate the economy through public investment.

That's taken a toll on public finances.

The finance ministry in December warned it may have to reassess next year's fiscal-deficit goal if growth slows. India's gross domestic product is expanding at a more than 7 percent clip, and Gadkari said improving the country's infrastructure -- whose quality is ranked below that of China and Indonesia -- can boost GDP by 2 percent and add 5 million jobs.

ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS ULTRATECH CEMENT ICICIDirect is bullish on Ultratech Cement and has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 3600. Benefitting from decline in energy costs, the company reported marginally better than estimated EBITDA of Rs 10.4bn (up 23.4% yoy) against the analyst’s estimates of Rs 10.2bn and EBITDA/tn of Rs 904 (up 17.4% yoy) versus estimated Rs 857/ tn. Recent correction in the stock price

AMBUJA CEMENTS Amit Gupta of ICICIDirect feels that Ambuja Cements may touch Rs 225-230.

The analyst said that the frontline cement stocks in the last one month indicate movement only in Ambuja Cement, which has moved up from Rs 190 to Rs 206. "We have given this stock in our

JK CEMENT Edelweiss is bullish on JK Cement and has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 702.

According to Edelweiss, JK Cement’s Q2FY16 EBITDA at INR1.1bn (up 20% YoY) and surpassed the INR983mn estimate riding improved white segment margin-up 180bps QoQ-tracking 2% realisation spurt.

While the long-term industry view (expected demand improvement, slowing capacity additions and controlled cost inflation) remains positive, the analysts have toned down their industry assumptions factoring in weak H1FY16 industry growth of just 1.3%. Edelweiss expects industry demand to grow 5.0%/8.5% in FY16/FY17E and introduce FY18 estimate of 8% growth. “With a longterm positive view, we maintain ‘BUY’ with a revised target price of INR702 “.

factors in the near-term concerns and hence the analyst upgraded the rating on the stock to Buy from Accumulate with a price target of Rs 3,281.

Cement prices are subdued in the North and Central regions, and the declining fuel prices would negate the impact of lower cement prices to a large extent.

ICICIDirect remains positive on longterm prospects of the company as it is expected to benefit from organic and inorganic capacity additions yearly pick also for 2016,” said the analyst.

"My sense is it can move towards Rs 225230 in the days to come and if you look at the delivery buying, which started picking up in the month of September that was around Rs 215. So immediately another Rs 8-9 of upside is there on the cards. So one should remain positive in this and play on the higher side," Amit Gupta added.

COAL INDIA Rajat Bose of rajatkbose.com feels that Coal India may move to Rs 341.50. According to the analyst, the stock looks good, it is attracting a lot of volume, it is buying.

So there is a possibility that it might do well. In fact, things that are beneath the soil, coal, fertiliser that you use on the soil and oil that you extract from the soil may do well this year, said Rajat Bose. In turn, Gaurang Shah of Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services is of the view that one may stay invested in Coal India. "Our

ACC Mihir Jhaveri of Religare Capital Markets believes that one should hold ACC. The analyst said that a lot of synergies will happen between ACC and Ambuja Cement, although the EBITDA for ACC has been one of the lowest. “One can say even lower than some of the midcap companies," said the analyst. The deal has also been stuck through some hurdles which has to be passed on plus now you have Lafarge into picture as well. So, how this entire three company deal will fructify. As far as stock is concerned, obviously ACC is amongst the weakest performer and there is a hold rating on the stock. “So, we don't really like ACC, on a relative basis we like UltraTech more than ACC. So, that is what our stance is and we maintain that," Mihir Jhaveri added.

sense is that the downside is extremely protected. In terms of positivity, we heard the power minister and coal secretary.

We also heard the last mile linkage issues getting resolved by the virtue of those dedicated freight corridors coming in, additional wagons to be purchased to transport end to end coal and of course the entire coal episode, as we are aware, is now finally resolved and one could possibly see some earnings visibility coming through with a long-term time horizon, so hold on to it," he added.

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MOST POPULAR ON CEMWEEK.COM The most-read stories on CemWeek over the past two months reflects the industry’s mixed outlook. The India column shows the 20 most popular stories from CemWeek featuring India-related coverage, and the Global column shows the global events that gathered the most attention worldwide during this period. Visit CemWeek.com to access the full stories.

INDIA

GLOBAL

1. India’s Shree Cement to acquire Jaypee’s cement assets

1. U.S.A: Lafarge installs a kiln in old cement plant

2. India: UltraTech Cement to setup new greenfield cement plant

2. FLSmidth designs a new classifier plant

3. UltraTech Cement, Dalmia Bharat, Shree Cement approached to take over cement

3. Cementos Chihuahua announces closure of its GCC of América

business in India 4. Turkey’s Çimsa ups clinker production 4. India’s Jaypee Group to sell cement business 5. HeidelbergCement’s Romanian divisions merge 5. India’s cement sector may witness a major revamp 6. December shows fall in cement and clinker FOB prices in Med Basin, Persian Gulf 6. Chhattisgarh government to cancel NoC to India’s UltraTech

and East Africa

7. LafargeHolcim to increase production of limestone in India

7. Financing agreement for new cement plant in Morocco signed

8. Lafarge plans to exit India operations

8. Sino- Zimbabwe Cement completes mill upgrade

9. Cement prices in India soften

9. Egypt records stability in cement prices

10. India: Tata’s arm dispatches fly-ash to Assam

10. Plans for new cement plant in Cameroon announced

11. India: Three players in a fray to acquire Reliance Cement assets

11. Bangladesh’s MI Cement to expand its business

12. India’s Jaiprakash Cement signs an agreement with Shree Cement

12. Holcim Dome in New Zealand likely to begin operations

13. India: Global private equity firms join the race to acquire R-Infra’s assets

13. UK Hanson Cement upgrades Mill Fan

14. India’s JSW Group to commence cement plant construction in West Bengal

14. Turkey’s Limak Cement plans to acquire cement operation in Africa

15. CRH in a fray to acquire Lafarge India’s cement assets

15. Hanson UK CEO steps down

16. India’s Ambuja Cements appoints new CFO

16. Construction of a cement plant in Egypt underway

17. India’s UltraTech may acquire stake in Kenya’s ARM Cement

17. Citic wins contract for Cambodia’s largest cement plant

18. Indian cement sector likely to get stronger

18. Cement prices in Nigeria to remain stable in the short term

19. India’s cement companies to receive petcoke via railways

19. Kenya witnesses sluggish growth in cement output

20. India Cements expect a surge in demand in AP and Telangana

20. Lafarge Africa commits funds towards community development

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INDIA CEMENT & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MAGAZINE

CW GROUP MEETING AGENDA The CW Group will be hosting and participating in a number of webinars and conferences.

We invite you to join us on-line or in person at the events to discuss our views of the industry.

CONFERENCES WHERE THE CW GROUP WILL BE PRESENTING

CBI Brazil & LatAm 2016

CW Summit Middle East & Africa

SFS SFS SFS SFS

Middle East 2016 Middle East 2016 Middle East 2016 Middle East 2016

EUROPE EUROPE

2016 2016

EUROPE

2016

EUROPE

2016

Solid Fuel Summit Middle East 2016

February 24 – 25, 2016

April 4 – 5, 2016

April 5 – 6, 2016

WEBINARS HOSTED BY CW RESEARCH

Sao Paolo, Brazil

1Q/2016 Cement Trade Prices Update

Thursday, March 3, 2016 2:00 PM GMT

Dubai, UAE

Global Cement Volume Forecast Report: 1H2016 Update and Outlook

Thursday, March 10, 2016 2:00 PM GMT

Concrete and Cement Chemical Additives Report

Thursday, March 24, 2016 2:00 PM GMT

Dubai, UAE

CW SUMMITS AshTrade Europe

April 21-22, 2016

Rome, Italy

CBI Africa 2016

June 13-14, 2016

Johannesburg South Africa

Supply Chain Management & Logistics Summit May 19-20, 2016 Mumbai, India

FOR QUESTIONS OR INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT

Liviu Dinu, Market Services & Marketing Consultant at the CW Group at ld@cwgrp.com

http://research.cwgrp.com/meetings

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MIDDLE EAST & SE ASIA

S U P P LY C H A I N

MANAGEMENT &

LOGISTICS

FORUM

Smart Supply Chain Strategies for Future Growth

Conference highlights: 

Identification of new markets & logistics hubs



Development of new industrial corridors



Strategies to develop customized logistics capabilities



Supply chain success factors in emerging markets



Optimizing big data solutions



Orchestrating the end to end value for volatile markets in India



Vendor network development



Cost containment & risk management in the smarter supply chain

Industry focus : Consumer durable  Automobiles  E – Commerce 

Organized by:

www.gmiforum.com sales@gmiforum.com

 Hospitality  Infrastructure  Oil

& gas

 FMCG  Pharmaceutical  Retail

Textile  Manufacturing  Cement / Coal / Ash 

Contacts

SWAPNIL SANJAY VANMALI M: +91 97 69 594 585

Client Service & Development Manager E: sv@gmiforum.com

CRISTINA NEGUT Client Service & Development Manager M: +40 723 531 762

E: cn@gmiforum.com

19-20 MAY 2016 MUMBAI, INDIA