Economists foresee 'major boost' for cement industry

Economic observers foresee a 'major boost' for the cement industry as the National Economic Council (NEC) has cleared Rs 1.514 trillion development plan for FY16, showing a growth of 29 percent year-on-year (YoY). The federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has been set 33 percent YoY higher at Rs 700 billion for the new fiscal year.
"The very aggressive development expenditure target, if fully and efficiently utilised, would provide a major boost to domestic cement volumes," viewed Syed Atif Zafar of JS Research. The APCMA, he said, had proposed to the government to either place Iranian cement on the negative list or impose anti-dumping duty in the upcoming budget. That, Atif said, could potentially provide an upside of two percent to the cement industry's domestic sales volumes. Also, he opined that the soft coal prices were likely to provide local cement manufacturers cushion to absorb expected hike in gas tariffs.