Cement shares surge ahead on hectic trading

Shares of two cement companies in Oman surged ahead on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), after both the companies announced their plans to establish a joint venture cement plant in Duqm.
Raysut Cement shares soared by 1.69 per cent to OMR1.505 amid 133,544 shares changing hands, while Oman Cement shares moved up by 1.66 per cent to 490 baisas on better demand for 1.75 million shares.
This is over and above Tuesday’s increase of 2.07 per cent and 2.55 per cent in share prices of Raysut Cement and Oman Cement, respectively.
Oman Cement Company and Raysut Cement Company recently said that both firms were planning to build a new cement plant in joint venture, in the Duqm Special Economic Zone.
The two cement producers have achieved a 10.78 per cent (an additional 312,545 tonnes) growth in combined cement sales at 3.21 million tonnes in the first half of 2016, up from 2.90 million tonnes for the same period of last year, and despite severe competition from neighbouring cement producers.
The country’s construction projects, that mainly involve building infrastructure, have propped up demand for cement. Since several mega projects are coming up in Duqm and the transportation cost is high for cement, it is an ideal location for a cement plant to meet the requirements of the Al Wusta region.