Xinhua, Australian Associated Press cement cooperation in reporting Olympics

China's Xinhua News Agency and Australian Associated Press (AAP) on Thursday agreed to exchange experiences in the reporting of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Xinhua's editor-in-chief Nan Zhenzhong briefed visiting AAP President Clive Marshall and editor-in-chief Tony Gillies about Xinhua's efforts in training personnel, improving facilities and market strategies for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

As the news agency of the host country of the Olympics, Xinhua will provide the best possible service to foreign news organizations, Nan said.

Marshall said AAP was willing to share its experiences with Xinhua in reporting the 2000 Sydney Olympics. AAP attaches great importance to its cooperation with Xinhua, he said, expressing his hope that the two agencies could further expand cooperation fields in the future.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.people.com.cn/200706/28/eng20070628_388406.html

6 cement plants under construction in Iran

LONDON, June 28 (IranMania) - Head of Khorasan Razavi Industries and Mines Department has announced that six new cement factories are being built in the province and they will become operational during March 2008-2009.

According to ILNA, Seyyed Hossein Ahmadi said at a press conference concurrent with the Industries and Mines Week, that two cement factories will become operational by March 2008 and two others in the following year, and the rest in 2009.

According to the official, these factories will produce enough cement to increase the production capacity from the current 450 tons per day to 14,000 tons.

He further said that the first gold refinement unit of Zarmehr Gold Factory will begin operation by the end of this summer.

On the water shortage crisis in the region, he said that the industrial sector uses only two% of the water while 92% goes to the agricultural sector.

He explained that last year?s mineral explorations led to the discovery of 80 mln tons of reserves and permits were issued to exploit 116 mln tons of proven reserves. During the same period, 570 exploration and exploitation permits were issued for projects involving investment of 5,210 bln rials plus the capacity to create jobs for 63,000 people.

In conclusion, the official said the sector has applied for 3,060 bln rials in loans, of which some 1,030 bln rials has already been made available to qualified applicants.

Source : http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=52615&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

Cement Industry Crosses the Border

June 28, 2007

The cement industry is one of the main beneficiaries of the national project to construct accessible housing. The conflict between the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Eurocement Group over price regulation on the market has, by all appearances, been overcome. In the last review issued by the Aton investment company, dedicated to small producers in the cement industry, almost no data on Eurocement were provided. The group's financial reports are not made public.
Company analysts think that the profitability of cement production in Russia began to grow quickly last year, in spite of high production costs. Analysts' calculations based on last year's figures and this year's forecasts for five mid-sized cement companies show that the growth of those companies' proceeds on the sale of a ton of cement surpasses the growth of production costs by several times. Production costs are growing at 10.5 percent, while proceeds are growing at 17 percent.

Analysts claim that the cement boom in Russia was unexpected for the producers. At the peak of the construction, there is a run on cement that leads of a deficit of transport capacity and railcars equipped to haul cement. Overproduction of this basic material for the construction industry is even expected in 2008. Aton, citing industry experts, predicts that up to 10 million tons of cement (that is, about 17 percent of annual production, if the 10-percent growth in production seen in 2006 continues in 2007) will be left in the company's storage facilities because of logistic shortages.

Paradoxically, the super-high demand for cement has led to the elimination of one of the basic principles in the industry, that is, locality. In the central regions of Russia, cement has been shipped in from Siberia for several years already. Earlier, such shipping had been considered unprofitable in principle, and Russia's cement imports exceed 1 million tons. “Huge distances that used to be considered critical no longer bother consumers,” the analysts say. Expected logistics problems may not only increase imports, but make industry growth senseless.

Source : http://www.kommersant.com/p778535/economics_transportation/

FM’s denial on price freeze takes cement stocks higher

INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK JUNE 28, 2007 MUMBAI: The finance minister’s statement on cement prices has helped ease the tension between the government and industry. P Chidambaram said there was neither a freeze nor any plan to interfere with cement pricing. The reaction of the stock market has been immediate, with cement shares up since morning. “There is no price freeze. In fact, prices have moved up a few rupees in South India. I think, the price increases effected by the cement manufacturers were completely unwarranted. Yet, because we believe in a market-driven economy, we did not impose price control,” said Chidambaram in an interview to a TV channel Wednesday. ACC shares ended nearly 9% higher at Rs 902, Grasim surged 5.2% to Rs 2,633, India Cements climbed 10.78% to Rs 206.50 and Gujarat Ambuja Cements added 7.43% to Rs 125.10. Over the past one year, cement companies had recorded very high profits. This led to changes in customs and excise duties, with the potential to considerably reduce the growth rate in profit in the current fiscal. In January, the government removed the customs duty of 12.5% on cement in an attempt to curb price increase. The Union Budget 2007-08 introduced a differential excise duty based on retail price. If the MRP exceeded Rs 190 per 50 kg bag, then the excise duty on cement (for large players) stood increased from Rs 400 per tonne to Rs 600 per tonne. Taking advantage of the demand-supply scenario, cement companies had increased cement prices by Rs 10-12 per 50 kg bag. But the government pressure forced cement manufacturers to stay prices for a year. The government later removed the 16% countervailing duty and 4% special additional customs duty on imported cement. This was done in order to make imported cement more viable than domestic cement. But the industry refused to roll back the price hike arguing that since the government had removed the countervailing and special additional duties even after the industry agreed not to raise prices, the price-freeze agreement with the government stood cancelled. Cement stocks had been underperforming the market since the announcement of the price-control measures. Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/FMs_denial_on_price_freeze_takes_cement_stocks_higher/articleshow/2157311.cms

Sensex ends with gain, cement scrips lead rally

Mumbai, June. 28 (PTI): The benchmark BSE Sensex closed with a gain of 73 points today on emergence of buying by funds in blue-chip stocks led by cement and capital goods segments.

The Sensex, which remained weak in yesterday' trading, rose 73.51 points at 14,504.57 as cement stocks led by ACC and Grasim surged following Finance Minister P Chidambaram's statement the government would not interfere in cement prices.

The Sensex touched a high of 14,537.04 points and a low of 14,435.24 in volatile trading.

In similar fashion, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty shot up by 18.05 points at 4,282 points, after touching a high of 4,291.40 and a low of 4,256.90 points.

Source : http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200706281759.htm

India's Sensex Rises; Cement Makers Gain as Automakers Decline

By Pooja Thakur

June 28 (Bloomberg) -- India's Sensitive Index rose. ACC Ltd. led cement makers higher after Morgan Stanley said prices of the building material could increase following a statement by the country's finance minister that the government hasn't asked companies to freeze them and wouldn't interfere in setting them.

``Pricing power appears to have returned for the next six to nine months for cement companies,'' Mumbai-based analyst Akshay Soni at Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients today. ``With inflation easing, the government seems to have relaxed their stance on cement pricing.''

Maruti Udyog Ltd. led automakers lower after crude oil prices advanced, raising concern higher oil prices will dent demand for cars and buses.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex climbed 73.51, or 0.5 percent, to 14,504.57. Nineteen stocks advanced while 11 declined in the index. The S&P/CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 18.05, or 0.4 percent to 4,282.

ACC, India's biggest cement maker by capacity, jumped 69.1 rupees, or 8.3 percent, to 898.9, its biggest gain since March 1, 2006. Grasim Industries Ltd., the nation's third biggest, advanced 120.65 rupees, or 4.8 percent, to 2,623.5. Ambuja Cements Ltd., the fourth-largest, added 8.65 rupees, or 7.4 percent, to 125.1.

In an interview broadcast yesterday, Indian finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said there was neither a pricing freeze in cement nor any plan to interfere with cement pricing, Morgan Stanley said in the note. ``We believe that this is a byproduct of inflation moving down to manageable levels,'' the analyst wrote.

India's inflation rate fell to a 13-month low of 4.28 percent on June 9, a government report showed last week.

Oil Prices Climb

Retail prices of cement have dominated political discussion in the country since Chidambaram proposed raising taxes on the building material by as much as 50 percent in the annual budget on Feb. 28. Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on March 24 that, irrespective of rising costs, cement makers had promised a one- year price freeze to help the government curb inflation.

``Cement stocks will rise further,'' said Sandip Sabharwal, chief investment officer at Mumbai-based J.M. Financial Mutual Fund, who oversees the equivalent of $171 million in equities. ``Pricing was the main concern, which seems to be resolved now.''

Maruti, which makes half the cars sold in India, fell 1.9 rupees, or 0.3 percent, to 749.9. Tata Motors Ltd., the country's largest truck and bus maker, slid 6.95 rupees, or 1 percent, to 664.95. Crude oil for August delivery rose 1.8 percent yesterday to $68.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was recently at $69.30.

Overseas investors sold a net 3 billion rupees worth of Indian shares on June 26, according to the latest figures from the Securities & Exchange Board of India's Web site.

The following shares rose or fell. Stock symbols are in brackets after company names.

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL IN) added 1.45 rupees, or 1.1 percent, to 136.05. The Indian maker of soaps and personal-care products and Emami Ltd. (HMN IN) may compete to buy Malaysia's Unza Holdings Bhd, the Economic Times reported, citing company officials. Godrej and Emami have shown interest after Dabur India Ltd. (DABUR IN) dropped its bid for Unza, the newspaper reported. Closely held Unza makes toiletries and personal-care products, it said.

Emami, an Indian personal-care company, rose 1.25 rupees, or 0.6 percent, to 213.65.

Housing Development Finance Corp. (HDFC IN) climbed 93.65 rupees, or 5 percent, to 1,958.45. India's second-biggest home mortgage lender, which is partly owned by Citigroup Inc., approved a plan to sell a 7.11 percent stake to Citigroup and a unit of the Carlyle Group to raise about 31 billion rupees. The lender won't need more capital for the next three years, Chairman Deepak Parekh said.

Meghmani Organics Ltd. (MEGH IN) gained 7.65 rupees, or 40 percent, to 26.65. Shares of the Indian maker of pigments and agrochemicals began trading today. The company, which is also listed in Singapore, raised 1.02 billion rupees selling 53.7 million new shares, at 19 rupees each.

Pfizer Ltd. (PFIZ IN) added 15.15 rupees, or 1.9 percent, to 825.65. The Indian unit of the world's biggest drugmaker said its second-quarter profit surged more than seven times, boosted by about a 13-fold increase in income from businesses other than selling medicines. Net income rose to 2.58 billion rupees in the three months ended May 31, from 358.9 million rupees a year earlier.

Earnings from businesses other than medicines, described as ``other income'' in the earnings statement, rose to 2.9 billion rupees from 227.2 million rupees.

Source : http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aRRRxqFxwJBY&refer=india