FINANCIAL DAILY

Headline Guan Eng to discuss cement price increase with Saifuddin MediaTitle The Edge Financial Daily Date 17 Jun 2019 Color Full Color Section Home Business Circulation 4,562 Page No 1,8 Readership 13,686 Language English ArticleSize 297 cm² Journalist N/A AdValue RM 3,256 Frequency Daily PR Value RM 9,767

8 HOME BUSINESS Guan Eng to discuss cement price increase with Saifuddin

Guan Eng to discuss cement price increase with Saifuddin

KUALA LUMPUR: Finance Minis- porters in George Town, , olises the market. “If this [price In addition, it said packing ma- ly. Th ese jobs will be put at risk if ter Lim Guan Eng will be meeting yesterday. increase] is to allow this one and terials have become costlier fol- the industry continues to operate the ministry of domestic trade and He was commenting on com- only company to make a huge lowing the increase in pulp prices, at a loss,” the association said. consumer affairs’ (KPDNHEP) plaints by developers about the profi t and harm the industry and while imported fuel materials, en- While it said it cannot com- Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin cement price hikes of between economy [in the process], then gineering spares as well as equip- ment on recent announcements Nasution Ismail next week to dis- 40% and 50% as notifi ed by let- this is something the government ment have further compounded of price adjustments, saying this is cuss the cement price increase, ters from suppliers, which took will take seriously,” he added. the problem of rising costs. due to prices being independently according to Bernama. eff ect from yesterday and some In response, cement manu- “While the industry has been set by each cement manufacturer, Guan Eng said he had received on July 1. facturers issued a statement yes- absorbing these cost increases, it stressed that the cement indus- complaints from several devel- Earlier, the minister held a terday to say that cement pric- cement prices in Peninsular Ma- try is highly capital-intensive and opers on this and that they were meeting with several represent- es in Peninsular have laysia have been on a downward hence needs to have a reasona- worried that the drastic price in- atives from the construction in- been falling since 2016 and have trend since 2016 and have reached ble return on its investments to crease would have adverse eff ects dustry, including Penang Mas- reached a level that is not sustain- a level that is not sustainable. be able to meet the expectations on the construction industry. ter Builders & Building Materials able, amid various cost increases “As a result of the signifi cant of its stakeholders. Th e government is also con- Dealers Association (PMBBMDA) the industry is facing. margin erosion brought about Th e association’s members in- cerned that the cement price in- advisor Datuk Lim Kai Seng and Among the cost increases it by the declining cement prices clude Aalborg Portland Malaysia crease would cause a chain reac- Real Estate and Housing Develop- highlighted were electricity tariff , and cost increases, the cement Sdn Bhd, Cement Industries of tion and aff ect a broader segment ers Association Malaysia (Rehda) which it said had increased over manufacturers have incurred sig- Malaysia Bhd, Cement Industries of the construction sector includ- chairman Datuk Toh Chin Leong. the past few years following the nifi cant losses and negative cash () Sdn Bhd, CMS Cement ing infrastructures, he said. “I’m Guan Eng also questioned withdrawal of the special indus- fl ows for the past many quarters. Industries Sdn Bhd, Hume Ce- gathering information from the whether the sharp price increase trial tariff or SIT, and the imple- “Collectively, the cement in- ment Sdn Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia industry players and will meet was due to having only one ce- mentation of the imbalance cost dustry provides hundreds of thou- Bhd, Tasek Corp Bhd, and YTL KPDNHEP next week,” he told re- ment company which monop- pass-through or ICPT mechanism. sands of jobs directly and indirect- Cement Bhd.