Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good Morning. It is a great pleasure to be with you in London. Here, on behalf of the World Cement Association, I would like to welcome the online and offline participants, and express my sincere thanks to Vice President Ajni, Founder Emil, Executive Committee members, all members and the WCA team for their contributions to the development of the Association. In
2023, WCA members from different countries and regions will face different challenges and opportunities. After 20-30 years of rapid development in the cement industry in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, most factories are facing the demand of equipment upgrading, cost reduction and efficiency enhancement. In 2023, China's cement industry produced 2.023 billion tons of cement, down 0.7% year-on-year, the lowest since 2011. After a four-year period of high profits, cement prices fell sharply in 2023, and some cement enterprises were near the break-even point. However, Chinese enterprises such as China Building Materials and Conch Cement, which have carried out vertical integration layout, entered the aggregate industry upward and entered the concrete industry downward, have made profits in adversity. Enterprises with large-scale international layout, such as Huaxin Cement , have also made good profits. China's cement prices fell, with China's cement imports of 870,900 tons, down 63.74% from the same period last year, seriously affecting the export volume of Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia to the eastern coastal areas of China.
In addition, carbon trading, fine management and global trade are important issues that the industry needs to pay attention to. China's cement industry will soon be included in the carbon trading system, but a consensus needs to be reached on the definition of carbon quotas for the cement industry. In 2023, the trading price of carbon quotas in Europe rose from 67 euros/ton to 100 euros/ton, which promoted the improvement of profits of cement enterprises and brought real practice and path for the cement industry with excess capacity to "reduce production" and assume social responsibility. Facing the needs of development, transformation of management mode and improvement of management level, the refinement of cement production enterprises can improve their competitiveness, cope with the market environment, seize opportunities and promote the steady development of enterprises. In addition, the role of global trade in addressing regional overcapacity deserves deep consideration.
At present, the international political and economic situation is complex and changeable, which has a great impact on the cement industry. Cement enterprises, especially many member enterprises from emerging countries, still have to face such issues as "how to attach equal importance to social responsibility and shareholder returns, how to balance sustainable development and short-term survival, and how to coordinate overcapacity and transformation and upgrading".
In the past few years, WCA has provided members with plant operation and stability improvement programs through plant benchmarking, difference analysis and patrol inspection services; through annual industry conferences and special conferences, it has gathered experts, scholars and leaders from various industries to share information, experience and insights; Through various activities organized by member forums and professional committees, we will share the best practices and technologies in the fields of energy conservation, carbon reduction, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement, and green development. Through the international media and the United Nations Climate Change Conference and other platforms, it represents the industry's voice and expresses its concerns, effectively enhancing its global influence.
WCA is a good platform, a promising platform that links industry stakeholders, generates value through services, interconnects through exchanges, and benefits each other through cooperation! The potential and value of the platform can also be further tapped by exploring new development directions and taking innovative and transformative measures.
On the one hand, WCA must strengthen the contact with international organizations and speak on behalf of the cement industry; we must continue to pay attention to the environment of the industry and share information in a timely manner; we must continue to study the practice of outstanding individuals and share and promote successful cases.
On the other hand, we need to pay attention to the real needs, interests and pain points of member enterprises and provide them with effective support and services. We should improve our understanding of member enterprises, conduct face-to-face exchanges with members, conduct in-depth research and communication, and formulate targeted service strategies to help enterprises solve practical problems.
Third, WCA needs to promote and encourage more innovation in the industry. For innovative business models, innovative technology, innovative equipment, and innovative successful cases, we should increase the sharing with member enterprises through field visits, seminars and other forms. The
industry must work together, and WCA needs more consensus. I firmly believe that under the guidance of the concept of "openness, inclusiveness, sharing and win-win", with the firm support of the Executive Committee and members, and through the sincere cooperation and unremitting efforts of the WCA team, the development of WCA will be better and better.
I wish this conference a complete success! Thank you all!
