Top Industry Decision Makers Met in Dubai for the CW Middle East and Africa Cement and Fuel Summit 2016

Industry leaders joined the 2016 edition of the CW Middle East and Africa Cement and Fuel Summit at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai, UAE, receiving exclusive insights from the leading global cement sector advisory and research firm, CW Group and coal and petcoke industry specialists, in a unique interactive format for the senior executives of the cement & fuel sectors.

Las Vegas, NV, May 13, 2016 --(PR.com)-- The event took place between 4-6 April, enjoying attendance from various countries, including Egypt, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Switzerland, Sudan, Turkey, and UAE.

As a premiere, this edition of the CW Summit also integrated presentations about the challenges and opportunities in distinct areas of the coal and petcoke, with key burning topics focusing on use, trade and logistics of solid fuels.

The event provided the opportunity to exchange views regarding the latest trends and market dynamics in the distinct areas of cement and fuel.

From a European perspective, the real problem of the industry is the lack of growth and also the artificial demand, which have a direct impact on prices.

Delegates from Egypt predicted good upcoming times for trading, with cement and clinker prices remaining low and competitive. Still, the few years ahead may be challenging and research should be aimed at reducing costs as much as possible.

For the CW analysts, the focus in the coming years should be on three key words: cost optimization, risk evaluation and technology improvements.

The discussion on the cement market started with an overview of the economic context of the cement industry, presented by CW specialists: “World economic perspective and cement outlook scenarios” discussed by Mr. Robert Madeira, Managing Director of the CW Group and “World energy status and outlook” by Mrs. Sushmita Rai, Sr. Associate Analyst, CW Group. Mr. Harpreet Duggal, CEO, Black Rock Cement added an interesting insight to the debate, sharing his perspective on “The effects of the falling oil prices on the global cement industry.”

Invited guest speakers complemented the CW team, sharing their expert opinion on the dynamics and challenges of the cement market in Africa and GCC countries: Mr. Mert Balcik, Project Manager, Cemtech Global Engineering presented the case study on "How we build 4 cement grinding plants in 3 years and 3 different countries in Africa,” while Mr. Anil Parashar, Managing Director, Cem Consult FZE covered "Cement or Cementitious? Changing dynamics in GCC.”

Cement trade was one of the key burning topics of the event, focusing on volumes, flows and prices.

Mrs. Zahra Asadi, Managing Director, Farasat GostarHoorCo., presented Iran as a game changer in Middle East and East Africa cement trade, with promising potential for cement and clinker export.

CW analysts opened the discussion on price assessments: Mrs. Sushmita Rai, Sr. Associate Analyst, CW Group covered “Recent and future cement and clinker trade - Middle East & Med Basin,” while Mr. Prashant Singh, Associate Director, CW Group, presented “Cement trade flows and prices: World, Africa and the Middle East.”

In a market that is becoming more and more competitive, having access to the latest information is essential. CW specialists discussed the recent challenges of the cement market: Mrs. Raluca Cercel, Consulting Analyst, CW Group on “Supply-side: a looming period of cement overcapacity in the region” and Mr. Prashant Singh, Associate Director, CW Group on “Specialty cements: role of white and oil well cement.”

As fuels have a direct impact on the cement selling price, with major influence on the budgets of cement manufacturers, it was integrated in the event agenda as one of the key points of discussion for the 2016 edition.

Mrs. Sushmita Rai, Sr. Associate Analyst, CW Group presented “An interconnected petcoke world: China lowering weight as price setter? India rising?” while exclusive local perspectives were shared by Mr. Cem Ozkaya, M.E. Regional Manager, Interkarbon on “Turkish coal imports and exports” and Mr. José António Botelho, Marketing Consultant, Sinoway Carbon on “The Petroleum Coke Scenario in India.”

A dedicated session was allocated to Shipping, Logistics and Handling, with insights shared by Mr. Ashraf Shaker, Commercial Manager, Racotis for Shipping on “Challenges of Logistics and Supply Chains in Egypt for Solid Fuels,” Mr. Partha Sarathi Pal, Commercial and New Projects Head, International Shipping and Logistics Dubai discussing “Bulk shipping” and Mrs. Sushmita Rai, Sr. Associate Analyst, CW Group presenting an “Outlook for dry bulk cargo rates - cement, coal and petcoke.”

The final highlight of the event was the Panel discussion “What is ahead? What are the opportunities and challenges looming?” that offered all participants the opportunity to share their opinions on the prospects and challenges of the industry in the coming years.

CW Group wishes to express its gratitude to the participants who contributed to the event’s success. We look forward to meeting you to next year’s edition of the CW Middle East and Africa Summit.

About CW Group
The Greenwich (Conn.), USA headquartered CW Group is a leading advisory, research and business intelligence boutique aligned along three pillars: Advisory, Research and Media. CW Advisory supports senior management in addressing their most challenging strategic, financial and operational issues as well as providing M&A advice. CW Research provides value added industry reports, multi-client studies and business research services. The Media pillar is based on rigorous and up-to-date information and data management, providing market updates to our clients in a self-service format through our industry portals as well as industry meetings.

The CW Group, with a presence in the US, Brazil, India, Portugal and Romania, has a multi-industry orientation, with particularly recognized sector expertise in up-stream building materials (cement, lime), downstream building materials (aggregates, ready-mix, cementitious - fly ash, slag), power and energy, steel, minerals & mining, agriculture and commodities, paper & pulp, ports, logistics & transportation.
Contact
CW Group / CemWeek
Luciana Murarasu
+1-702-866-9474
www.cwgrp.com
ContactContact
Categories