India's largest cement producer, UltraTech Cement, has appealed to the Indian government to help its cement industry out of its predicament. It is reported that India's cement industry has entered a challenging era due to soaring operating costs and slowing demand.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, president of UltraTech Cement, said the outlook for India's cement industry remained challenging as the pace of real estate and infrastructure construction slowed down. "We expect the government to help the cement industry by reducing the tax burden and ensuring coal supply, and to take various measures to ensure economic growth."
He also said that the company was not involved in the activities of any cartel. There are 47 enterprises in India's cement industry. There is no monopolistic behavior that can reach this level, and there is no conclusive evidence that such behavior exists in the industry. Without real evidence, the accusation will not be established.
Birla said UltraTech Cement would actively respond to the Competition Commission of India's allegations against its monopoly alliance. In addition, he pointed out that the recent rise in cement prices may be attributed to the 150% surge in coal prices, as well as the corresponding increase in diesel prices and rail freight rates. The cost of capital has also risen. "The increase in the price of cement does not compensate for the increase in costs."
It is reported that the main reasons for the slowdown in private investment expenditure are low demand, high interest rates, and the slowdown in government approval and release. "I think the short-term outlook for the cement industry is still poor," Birla said. In any case, in the medium and long term, the industry has good growth potential.
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