SCG sees cement demand pick up

       Thailand's cement demand is expected to rise in the second half of this year,due mainly to the start of construction of the government's megaprojects, said Siam Cement Group (SCG) Thailand's largest industrial conglomerate.
       Disbursements of the central budget for megaprojects, part of the economic stimulus packages, will begin this quarter and help revive the local economy,said Pramote Techasupatkul, president of SCG Cement.
       "Our economy has suffered for several years due to domestic political conflicts and the global economic slump.Now it begins to get better and growth should resume. From 2008 to the first half of this year, the cement industry was in a bad shape," said Mr Pramote.
       Despite the bright prospect in the second half of the year, SCG expected to see total domestic cement consumption on par with last year's level, at 24 million tonnes, because of a 10% contraction in the first half, he said.
       For SCG Cement, he expected domestic sales to be on par with last year at 9-10 million tonnes in line with the domestic market.
       Mr Pramote also anticipated another 8-9 million tonnes to be shipped to export markets, resulting in total sales volume of 17-19 million tonnes, also the same level as last year.
       "Demand in the first half of this year sank so steeply that even the recovery of demand in the second half could not offset the decline," Mr Pramote said.
       Demand for cement peaked in 2007 at 28 million tonnes before sliding by 4 million to 24 million tonnes.
       SCG has tackled the drop of demand by introducing innovative cement products aimed at new segments to offset the dwindling sales of conventional cement products. It has also explored new markets such as Africa and South Asian countries.
       SCG started to shift its focus from the United States, which accounts for half of total sales volume, to other markets such as Africa and South Asia since 2006 after seeing its sales in the world's largest economy decline gradually.
       Before the oil price crisis of 2007-2008,SCG spent 180 million baht on research and development for new cement products to tap into niche markets such as concentrated cement, which helps cut construction costs.
       Last year, SCG launched aggregates cement to serve demand for energy saving in the farm sector.
       It also invested 5.8 billion baht to improve energy consumption at its production facilities.
       Its heat waste recovery programme could cut power bills by 280 million baht in the first quarter this year and cut greenhouse gas emissions annually by 300,000 tonnes.
       SCG yesterday also re-launched its marine cement in order to expand its customer base to cover resort operators.
       Marine cement has been developed to be resistant to corrosion by seawater,making it last as long as 40 years compared with 20 years for conventional cement.
       SCG expects the sales of its marine cement to gradually rise to 100 million baht over the next 4-5 years from a marginal level now.
       Shares of SCC closed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday at 231 baht, up two baht, in trade worth 455.4 million baht.