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India's Ambuja Cements was the first runner-up at the Assocham CSR Excellence Awards for 2013-14, held at the 6th Global Corporate Social Responsibility Summit in New Delhi.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) recognised efforts by the Ambuja Cement Foundation towards water conservation, health and sanitation, sustainable agriculture, economic enhancement, HIV and AIDS awareness, education of local youth, and encouraging women's self-help groups.

In 2013, Cimentos de Portugal's (Cimpor) Mozambican subset, Cimentos de Mocambique, managed to record a turnover of €141.9 million, up by 5.4% on a yearly basis.
Sales of clinker and cement for the unit stood at 1.299 million tonnes, up 9.8% year-on-year. Its concrete sales, in particular, were 172,000m³, up 49.8% on 2012. Cimentos de Mocambique invested €24.5 billion in 2013, which has been channelled into setting up a cement mill in Dondo, Beira.

It is reported that Italian cement manufacturer Italcementi may be working on a plan to merge with French peer Ciments Francais. Italcementi currently holds an 83.1% stake in Ciments Francais, and its parent company holds a 2.7% stake, while a 13% stake of Ciments Francais capital is listed on Paris stock exchange. According to financial analysts, the operation may save up to €200 million of costs.
Italcementi has also been put under observation by Moody's for a possible rating upgrade. Currently, the firm

Quoting official figures, state-run Semen Indonesia said 4.4 million tonnes of cement were sold in Indonesia in February 2014, up 2.9% year-on-year.
Of this, 2.4 million tonnes were sold in Java, a year-on-year rise of 4%, whereas sales in East and West Java climbed by over 12% amid Mount Kelud's volcanic eurptions in East Java.
Figures were released by the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI). Cement is one the primary indicators to determine domestic spending in Indonesia.

Chettinad Cement Corporation (CCC) of India says it will acquire Anjani Portland Cement (APC) for around €11.79 million (INR 1 billion). APC has debt of €25.85 million (INR 2.22 billion), limestone reserves and a cement plant with annual output of 1.2 million tonnes.

The Zimbabwean subsidiary of South Africa-based cement producer PPC is looking to build a factory worth €179.81 million in Zimbabwe. The unit is currently conducting a feasibility study at the limestone deposit in Rushinga. The new plant will have an annual production capacity of one million tonnes.
Meanwhile, another cement producer, Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe (Lafarge Cement), is revamping its operations in the country. The firm has posted a €6.46 million net operating income in 2013. In addition, it has s

Vietnamese authorities have told project owners not to start new cement projects because of the country’s current oversupply of the building material.
Cement consumption in Vietnam has been below what was expected because of the sluggish property markets, with several construction and housing projects still being delayed. Now, supply is higher than demand as the total capacity of the cement industry in the country reaches about 70 million tonnes, while yearly consumption totals at just 61 million tonnes,

Fourteen cement companies in Saudi Arabia recorded a 4% growth in sales from 53.5 million tonnes in 2012 to 55.6 million tonnes in 2013, according to Argaam Business Info.
However, further figures show sales in February 2014 dropped 3% from 4.74 million tonnes to 4.59 million tonnes on a year-on-year basis. Despite that, clinker production rose 5% to 4.07 million tonnes. In the month under review, Arabian Cement Company recorded a 41% jump in sales, followed by Safwa Cement Company to 6%, compared with 10

Siam Cement Group (SCG) of Thailand is developing a new €288.51 million cement plant in Myanmar. The plant is expected to be ready in 2016 and will produce two million tonnes of cement a year.

Metso has appointed Juha Silvennoinen as the Finnish company’s new president, services business line in mining and construction with responsibility for the development of the Group's overall services business.
Silvennoinen has made a long career in ABB where he has held several executive positions in various businesses. In his last position at ABB he was responsible for Motors and Generators business unit, which employs some 16,000 people globally.
In addition to his role as president, services business l

Hexagon, a leading global provider of design, measurement and visualisation technologies, has signed an agreement to acquire SAFEmine, a leader in the field of safety solutions for mining operations.
Headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, SAFEmine provides comprehensive traffic safety solutions for vehicles operating in open-pit mines. Built around a compact collision avoidance system, SAFEmine’s technology increases situational awareness and reduces accidents by actively alerting the vehicle operator to immi

Cementos Portland has announced a €72 million loss in 2013. The FCC subsidiary managed to cut in half its loss from the previous year. Turnover in 2013 was down 17.3%, reaching €541 million and EBITDA was down 25.7% at €50.4 million.

Lafarge Malaysia (Lafarge) registered a net profit of MYR 386mn (€86.28 million) in 2013, while that in October-December 2013 rose 23% on-year to MYR 130 million. Also, the revenue of the construction aggregates, cement and concrete company in the three months from operations in and outside Malaysia increased 9% and that in 2013 reached MYR 2.85 billion.

CRH is set to dispose up to 30% of its subsidiary portfolio, with 20% set to be reviewed for potential restructuring.

Any potential sales could happen in a three-year time frame, said CRH's finance director Maeve Carton.

According to Albert Manifold, group CEO of CRH, the additional 20% of assets will “most unlikely” be up for sale.

The company noted that 45 subsidiary companies will make up the remaining 10% of its current asset base set for “orderly disposal.” It was also noted that the company