Leslie Koo,chairman of Taiwan Cement Co.(TCC),is optimistic about second-half operations as well as for China Synthetic Rubber Co.(CSRC),an affiliate,especially in the cement business,saying that cross-strait sales of cement will grow in the second half,with increasing prices expected after the October holiday in China.Koo also announced that Taiwan Cement International Holdings Ltd.,a subsidiary of TCC in China,will start to raise cement price by RMB$20(US$3.15)per tonne in the Pearl River Delta region,the first adjustment since the third quarter of 2011.Koo stated that,due to global economy recovery,growing infrastructural projects in China,and Taiwan s stable economic outlook,TCC expects improving performance in the second half.Lower prices in China from the third quarter of 2011 undermined prices in the high season in the second half of last year,to compromise first-half performance of this year with low profits.A TCC executive said that,due to anti-dumping taxes,the firm s plant in Taiwan started to see gross profit margin grow steadily from the third quarter in 2011,which will continue with new orders in the second half of this year.TCC saw cement sales in China rise over 10%quarter on quarter(QoQ)in July and August,but prices have been dropping due to unbalanced supply and demand,low market confidence,with Koo predicting prices to rebound by the end of September to peak after China s October holiday.Koo pointed out that the carbon black market in China and India remained oversupplied,but CSRC has performed well due to Taiwan s stable market and warming market in U.S.,with confidence towards second-half operations,production capacity to rise from 65,000 to 85,000 tonnes in India,and from 195,000 to 330,000 tonnes in China.
UAECEMENT.COM-Sep,09,2012
