Domestic cement sales in Indonesia fell 2.9 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 4.5 million tons in January 2015. A fall in cement consumption was detected in almost all regions of Indonesia, possible related to heavy rains that have plagued several areas in January and led to a slowdown in construction and infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Widodo Santoso, Head of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said that the largest declines in cement sales in the first month of 2015 were recorded in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

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The Indonesian government wants to limit investment opportunities in the country’s cement industry in an attempt to maintain a healthy business climate. Indonesian Industry Ministry official Harjanto said that Indonesia’s current cement production capacity is more than enough to meet domestic demand. Given that most established cement producers have expansion plans the influx of new cement producers leads to an oversupply thus reducing companies’ profit margins. The nation’s cement production capacity stands at 77 million tons per year.

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Growth of cement sales in Indonesia is estimated to have slowed in 2014 amid uncertainties brought about by the ‘political year’ (referring to the fragmented results of the country’s legislative and presidential elections and which led to the postponement of various infrastructure projects and other investments in Indonesia). Other factors that impacted negatively on cement sales this year were the central bank’s higher interest rate policy, low commodity prices and weakening purchasing power.

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Cement sales in Indonesia surged 21 percent month-to-month (m/m) to 5.6 million ton in September 2014 from 4.6 million ton in the preceding month. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said that the increase in Indonesian cement sales was supported by the start of a number of central and regional government infrastructure projects. Santoso also detected an increase in development of property projects. Infrastructure and property are the sectors that absorb most cement.

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Indonesian cement sales fell 25 percent to 3.7 million tons in July 2014 from 5 million tons in the same month last year. This sharp decline is attributed to the Lebaran holiday (also known as Idul Fitri in which Muslims celebrate the end of the fasting month) when businesses are closed as well as Indonesia’s July 2014 presidential election. Slowing cement sales are also caused by declining economic growth (5.12 percent yoy in Q2-2014). Cement sales are a key indicator for construction activity (infrastructure and property development).

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After experiencing slowing growth in recent months, Indonesian cement sales in October 2013 increased 7.9 percent (year-on-year) to 5.58 million metric tons according to data from the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI). As such, cement sales rebounded from the 5.3 percent growth (yoy) in the previous month. The October growth rate was mainly caused by increased cement demand from islands other than Java. In particular, demand from Sumatra rose significantly. Indonesia's second most populous island bought 1.15 million tons of cement.

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Although the combined performance of the four listed Indonesian cement companies in the first six months of 2013 is good with net profit rising 13.7 percent from the same period in 2012, the individual companies posted mixed results. Net profit of Semen Indonesia, Indonesia's largest cement producer, rose 22.9 percent, while net profit of Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, the country's second-largest cement producer, rose 11.8 percent. The other two cement producers, Holcim Indonesia and Semen Baturaja, posted a decline in net profit.

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Holcim Indonesia, the third largest cement producer in Indonesia, is a cement-based building materials and services provider with operations in two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia. The company currently holds a market share of around 15 to 16 percent in Indonesia in terms of cement production. Holcim and its subsidiaries have a combined cement production capacity of 9.1 million tons in Indonesia. The company, part of the Swiss-based Holcim Group, aims to expand production capacity with its two new Tuban plants.

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Semen Indonesia, formerly known as Semen Gresik, is Indonesia's largest cement producer. The company, which is one of the few Indonesian companies that has spread its wings abroad for business expansion, forms the holding company of three large cement producers: Semen Gresik (East Java), Semen Padang (West Sumatra) and Semen Tonasa (South Sulawesi). Although the company lost a couple of percentage points in terms of market share, it still dominates Indonesia's lucrative cement industry.

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Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa (Indocement), Indonesia's second largest cement producer in terms of market share, has 12 cement plants that are spread across West Java and South Kalimantan. Its Citeureup factory in Bogor (West Java) is currently one of the largest cement factories in the world with an annual installed production capacity of 11.9 million tons of cement. As Indonesia's cement industry has been growing rapidly, along with the country's economic growth, Indocement is busy expanding its operations.

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Indonesian cement sales have slowed and may not achieve the target set for 2014. In the first half of 2014, the country’s domestic cement sales totaled 28.9 million tons, a 3.9 percentage point increase from the same period last year, well below the growth target of 6 percent (year-on-year, yoy). However, this development is no surprise as economic growth of Indonesia has slowed in recent years. Cement sales, a key indicator of construction activity (infrastructure and property development) are closely linked to general GDP growth.

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Indonesian cement sales fell 0.4 percent (year-on-year) to 4.52 million tons in April 2014. The decline in cement sales was the result of the country’s legislative election that was held on 9 April 2014 as consumers bought few building materials during the campaign period. Head of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) Widodo Santoso stated that a number of large infrastructure projects are currently being tendered and are thus unable to boost domestic cement sales yet.

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Indonesia's cement sales in January 2014 declined 1 percent to 4.65 million metric tons from the same month in 2013 (4.68 million metric tons). The decline was caused by severe floods brought about by high rainfall amid a peak in Indonesia's rainy season. The floods resulted in disrupted distribution networks, therefore blocking cement shipments to retailers. Moreover, these weather conditions caused the postponement of several construction activities, thus reducing demand for cement.

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According to the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), cement sales in Indonesia reached 41.6 million tons in the first three quarters of 2013, a 5.3 percent increase compared to domestic cement sales in the same period in 2012 (39.5 million tons), while Indonesia's cement exports jumped by 187 percent to 503 thousand tons. As such, total cement sales from January to September 2013 grew 6.2 percent to 42 million tons. Meanwhile, Semen Indonesia, Indonesia's largest cement producer, managed to expand its market share.

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According to data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), domestic cement sales have fallen 5.8 percent to 3.3 million tons in August 2013 (from the same month last year). Being an important indicator of economic expansion (as cement sales inform about the development of property and infrastructure projects in the country), these lower cement sales confirm the slowing pace of economic growth in Indonesia. Compared to July 2013, cement sales in Indonesia fell by a massive 32 percent.

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Cement sales in Indonesia grew by seven percent to 32.9 million tons in the period January to July 2013. This pace of growth is significantly lower compared to the double-digit cement growth rate last year and thus forms another sign of cooling economic growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy (cement sales are a good indicator to measure the state of economic growth of a country). A slowdown in domestic cement sales is likely to continue in the second half of 2013, partly due to a decline in infrastructure projects.

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Cement consumption in Indonesia increased 8.6 percent to 18.11 million tons in the first four months of 2013. Demand was particularly supported by property and housing projects in the bigger cities of Indonesia. Another pillar of support was found in the development of various infrastructure projects (including those within the framework of the government's ambitious MP3EI plan). The Indonesian Cement Association expects this year's cement consumption in Indonesia to rise to 61 million tons in total.

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