Asia & Pacific Rim

Vanguard Mining Corporation plans to purchase a 75% equity interest in a 150 million t limestone mine in North Sumatra Province.

The Indonesian cement manufacturer is considering adding a power plant to its expanding Indarung facility and has announced plans to expand its Vietnamese capacity.

Asia Cement Corp is planning to increase its market share in the Chinese cities of Wuhan, Nanchang, Jiujiang, Chengdu and Yangzhou to over 30% through mergers and acquisitions.

A selection of news highlights from Jaiprakash Associates, JK Cement Ltd, Lafarge and Holcim.

According to the Vietnam National Cement Association, domestic cement consumption in the first five months of 2014 increased by 9.3% y/y to 20.42 million t.

New Road Transport and Highways Minister is reported to be looking into long-term supply arrangements with major cement producers for the construction of concrete roads.

Bernard Fontana visited Holcim’s operations in Sri Lanka recently, which he said are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the merger with Lafarge.

According to local reports, the High Courts of Bombay and Allahabad have approved plans for UltraTech to acquire assets belonging to Jaypee Cement Corporation Ltd in Gujarat.

The Board of Directors of ACC Ltd has appointed Harish Badami as CEO and Managing Director Designate of the company, effective from 1 August 2014.

Cement sales increased by 7.7% in Indonesia in May, an improvement on April when they fell by 0.4%.

Gebr. Pfeiffer SE will supply mills to a cement plant in Malaysia, the Elazig plant in Turkey and a cement production facility in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

SDLG wheel loaders are operating at Jinsheng Concrete Co., Ltd in Shaanxi Province, west China, close to the site of the famous Terracotta Army.

Maple Leaf has signed a 3-year agreement with Pakistan Railways for the transport of cement to Karachi, while India’s ASSOCHAM proposes investment plan for the country’s rail system that could aid industry.

Despite nine months of consecutive expansion in house building and improvements in apartment construction, the Australian construction industry remained in negative territory in May 2014.

India’s Shree Cement is planning to set up a 3 million tpa grinding plant in Odapada, located in the Dhenkanal district, at a cost of approximately Rs.452.55 crore.