A few days ago, Philippine housing developers expressed concern about the rising price of cement. The Organization of Socialized Housing and Economic Housing Development of
the Philippines (OSHDP) and the Roundtable of Socialized Housing Alliances, an association of NGOs engaged in housing development, indicated that the increase in the price of cement, the possibility of a shortage in some areas and the shift in payment terms for cement procurement to cash payments are very worrisome. Jefferson Bongart, president of the
Housing Socialization and Economic Housing Development Organization, said that cement is an essential raw material for housing manufacturing and road construction. The price
of bagged cement has soared from 205 pesos to 225 pesos in the past two weeks. Property developers are concerned about the hike, as cement prices were fairly stable in 2015 and 2016. The
government's housing programme is now threatened by this hike, as both the government and the private sector struggle to build 6.5 million homes. The
Housing and Urban Development coordinating committee (HUDCC) increased the minimum floor area for social housing from 18 to 24 square metres when it adjusted the price ceiling for social housing. They claim that the rising price of cement is making the situation worse.
Local cement producers say the supply is still sufficient for the "big build, special build" program, but it is not clear whether it can meet the demand of the housing and real estate industry. Marcelino Mendoza, chairman of
the Socialized Housing Coalition Roundtable, said that socialized housing was a very low-profit project, and that soaring prices and delays caused by material shortages and credit purchasing power had a great impact on the vitality of housing developers and housing NGOs. "In fact, the social housing sector has long advocated a one-stop service and fast track for government permit processing, which will make a greater contribution to the delivery and cost reduction of long-term projects,
" Mendoza said. An additional tax on cement imports would also exacerbate the situation,
the two organizations said. "This will ultimately result in additional costs for housing beneficiaries," the
two housing construction organizations said. There should be no new tax on building materials used to manufacture low-cost housing.
Philippine miner plans to ship 5.7 million tons of nickel ore
to China this year Philippine nickel miner Ferronickel Global Holdings said on Thursday it plans to ship 5.7 million wet tons of nickel ore to China this year, the same as in 2018, as China's economic cooling is expected to slow demand.
Global Ferronickel also said it had signed a supply contract to supply Baosteel Group with 1 million tons of wet ore. The Company is also seeking to sell ore to Guangdong Century Green Nickel Industry Co., Ltd. (Guangdong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Co. Ltd.) in China.
The Philippines is the world's second largest supplier of nickel ore after Indonesia. Dante Bravo, president of
Global Ferronickel, said that Baosteel Group has been a customer of the company since 2014, and the new agreement with Zui is the largest Zui between the two companies so far. Global Ferronickel is the second largest nickel ore producer in the Philippines.
Bravo said it expects to make a profit this year despite the slowdown in China's growth momentum.
"The impact of China's cooling economy has mainly reduced expected demand and ore prices," he said. "But overall, we can still make a profit. We will sign a new supply agreement with our buyer after the Chinese lunar new year (next month).
As nickel prices fell last year, Global Ferronickel chose to ship high-grade ore to maximize its profits. Shipments of 5.709 million wet tonnes last year were also 3.8% above the original target of 5.5 million wet tonnes, driven by favourable weather conditions and more efficient operations.
Global Ferronickel is looking to further increase sales of medium and high grade ore to 60% of the total this year, with low grade ore accounting for 40%. Medium and high grade ore accounted for 53% of total sales last year and only 39% in 2017. The estimated sales volume
in 2019 will be affected by weather conditions.
浙公网安备33010802003254号