The 7th Middle East Cementrade meet in Muscat is all set to open next week on 2 - 3 October!

The meet is hosting participants from various core and allied segments of the industry including Schwenk Zement  KG, Reliance Logistics, Al Radha Trading, Star Cement , IMSAT S.A., Sinai Cement Company, Interbulk Egypt for Export S.A.E, National Cement Factory, Mondi Lebanon, Mondi Oman  LLC, Jordan Paper Sacks Co,  FLSmidth Maag Gear, Ambuja Cements, Marubeni cement, Holcim Trading FZCO, Union Cement Company, BSW Machinery Handels GmbH, Haver Middle East FZE, First GlobalTrade Consultant Valencia S.L, HC Trading International Inc., Raysut Cement Company, Cemex, African Alliance Kenya Securities & many more! See below the profile of delegates attending:

To attend this event, REGISTER here now or contact Ms. Grace at grace@cmtsp.com sg today.

Ahead of the official commissioning by President Kibaki, Savannah Cement, the sixth cement maker in Kenya has started production at its Athi River EPZ-based Sh8.5 billion plant. The factory has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. Savannah is a joint venture between Savannah Heights - a consortium of local investors, Wan-Ho, a Chinese investment firm, and Acme Cement, also from China.

It has already received export orders to Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan, said an official. It is expected that 80% of the production will go to regional sales since the firm is based in an Export Processing Zone. Savannah Cement’s chairman, Benson Ndeta said, “Production at the plant is already ongoing and we will be servicing regional orders beginning next week.”

Mr. Ndeta pointed out that local demand for cement continues to outstrip supply and the scenario is even worse in the regional market. “That is why we have invested heavily in this plant as we seek to secure a sizeable share in both markets.”

A recent report by Standard Investment Bank read, “Over the next five years we expect market share to shift from multinationals to new, more aggressive, non-listed players. While multinationals accounted for 86.5% of total capacity in 2005, this is expected to dip to 52.2% by 2015.”

According to Timothy Wambu, an analyst with African Alliance, Savannah’s plan to set up a one million per year clinker plant beginning 2013 will go a long way in helping the firm improve on market share. Regarding prices he said, “The ability to produce raw material gives a firm the leeway to price its products cheaper than that of its competitors.” Although prices have remained relatively stable despite the escalating input costs, the rising competition could add pressure on the prices.

In the last five years, the government has been investing heavily in road infrastructure and Constituency Development Fund projects, thus opening new venues for development which also supports the demand for cement. Regardless of high interest rates, other demand-driving factors are housing shortage and attractive rents.

Mr. Timothy Wambu, Research Analyst at African Alliance Kenya Securities will share more information on the industry competition, demand, drivers and growth outlook on Kenya and the region in a talk entitled “East Africa Cement Outlook” at the 7^th Middle East CemenTrade. The conference will be held on 02-03 October in Muscat. Register now to attend or contact Ms. Grace at grace@cmtsp.com.sg for further enquiries and registrations.

Excerpt from Businessdailyafrica.com

In the first three months of the Persian calendar which began on 20 March 2012, Iran exported 3.34 million tons of cement and clinker. During this time, 2.89 million tons of cement and 449,400t of clinker were exported.  It is expected that by the end of the current Persian calendar year, Iran’s cement production capacity will increase by 6.8Mt, reaching 82Mt.

Mohammad Fatemian, an official with the Industry, Mine and Trade Ministry said, “The country’s cement production capacity stood at 76.4Mt in the past calendar year which ended on 19 March 2012. He added that over 10.4Mt of cement was exported during 2011-2012, a figure which is projected to rise to 15Mt by 2012-2013. Cement production in Iran showed a rise of 8% in 2011-2012, compared to 2010-2011. Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, Mehdi Ghazanfari announced that the country’s cement production capacity will reach 110Mt by 2015.

Triggered by the developments in the construction sector, cement demand and consumption in the Middle East are on the rise. The significant boost in markets has captured the interest of investors. A complete outline of the cement demand, supply, trends, challenges and other salient aspects of the industry will be available at the 7^th Middle East CemenTrade in Muscat on 02-03 October. Register here to be a part of this event, or contact Ms. Grace at grace@cmtsp.com.sg for information and enquiries.

Source: Tehrantimes.com

It is reported that to meet the escalating local demand as well as cater to export markets such as Yemen and East African countries, Oman’s cement sector players are expanding their production capacity. Earlier in 2011, 25% of Oman’s cement demand was met by cheap inflow of cement, mainly from UAE where the construction sector was weak, resulting in excess cement supply.

UAE cement players have now hiked their cement prices due to high operational costs, thus giving the local players in Oman a stronger market share capitalization. According to Oman Cement, a leading producer in Oman, the higher demand for cement during the current quarter is driven by ongoing infrastructure and construction activities in the local market. At present, Oman Cement’s capacity utilization stands at 90%.

The revival of demand in the cement sector and improvement in the market share of the local players aided by higher volumes owing to higher infrastructure and construction activities have helped the company achieve this growth, added Gulf Baader Capital Market. They also remarked that the gains in the international oil prices have pushed the government to continue with its aggressive spending towards the infrastructure and construction activities which has spelled boon for the cement sector. Local cement demand is likely to remain at higher levels as most construction projects in Oman are in implementation stage.

Mr Mohammed bin Alawi Ali Muqaibal chairman of Raysut Cement believes Omani cement companies will witness unabated growth in forthcoming quarters aided by volume improvement.

Ultimately, the growing cement demand in the Middle East has gained more than a passing interest. The 7^th Middle East CemenTrade in Muscat on 02-03 October will review the Middle Eastern market trend as well as provide an update on Oman’s construction projects and many more presentations on the region’s cement industry scenario. One may Pre-Register here now, or contact Ms. Grace at grace@cmtsp.com.sg for more details.

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The Cement sector in the Middle East is witnessing a sure and steady growth owing to the massive infrastructure developments taking place in the region, especially Saudia Arabia with its mega infrastructure plan worth $400 billion.

The CEO of Najran Cement Company in Saudi, Ahmed Zigail said, “Cement production witnessed a remarkable development where it rose from 23.8 million tons in 2005 to 43 million tons in 2010 then jumped to 48 million tons in 2011.” He also stated that the “Cement sector is poised to remain key business activities mostly benefiting from economic boom witnessed by the Kingdom in light of high growth rates related to mega developmental and construction plans adopted by the Saudi government.” Mr. Ahmed Zigail confirmed that the Kingdom’s plans to build 1.65 million new housing units by 2015 will push demand on cement during the next 5 years.

He also pointed out that investment in the cement industry means investment for community where construction sector represents 9 percent of non-oil GDP in the Kingdom, which is considered a main driver for growth of cement sector.

According to another industry expert, “The volume of cement production in the Kingdom is predicted to touch 56 million tons in 2013 where demand is setfor 60 million tons compared to production level of 48 million tons in 2011.”

The surge in the Middle Eastern cement markets have paved the way for CMT to bring its 7^th Middle East CemenTrade conference to Muscat on 02-03 October.  The conference is designed to highlight market outlook and challenges in Saudi, Oman, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait including other analytical topics on trends that currently reign the cement industry. Further details on the conference will be available shortly. In the meantime, one may contact grace@cmtsp.com.sg for further information or Pre-Register for the event now.

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