Cement price cartelisation allegations trigger CCI raids
Cement

Cement price cartelisation allegations trigger CCI raids

Competition Commission of India (CCI), India’s antitrust body, conducted raids this week at offices of UltraTech Cement and two subsidiaries of LafargeHolcim. Simultaneous search operations were also conducted at multiple locations in India.

Swiss-based LafargeHolcim confirmed in a statement that officials visited the Mumbai offices of ACC and Ambuja Cement, and stated that the companies were fully cooperating with the authorities.

Media reports also say via sources that searches were conducted at Indian company Shree Cement Ltd. None of the Indian cement companies were willing to comment.

Following the news of the raids, shares of major cement companies were down between 3% and 5% in intra-day trading on Thursday.

So far, there has been no comment from CCI regarding the matter. No details are updated about ongoing public raids or cartel cases. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had announced in the parliament last year that the CCI was examining complaints of cartelisation by cement companies. CCI had imposed a heavy penalty of $1.1 billion on several cement companies in 2012. They were accused of using their plants to create a shortage of cement. An appeal is still pending for that decision.

CCI, in recent years, has also raided offices of other foreign companies such as Carlsberg and Glencore on allegations of price collusion in their industry.

India is the second-largest cement producer in the world. The country accounted for 8% of global installed capacity in 2019. During 2019-2020, the cement sales in India stood at $9 billion.

Competition Commission of India (CCI), India’s antitrust body, conducted raids this week at offices of UltraTech Cement and two subsidiaries of LafargeHolcim. Simultaneous search operations were also conducted at multiple locations in India. Swiss-based LafargeHolcim confirmed in a statement that officials visited the Mumbai offices of ACC and Ambuja Cement, and stated that the companies were fully cooperating with the authorities. Media reports also say via sources that searches were conducted at Indian company Shree Cement Ltd. None of the Indian cement companies were willing to comment. Following the news of the raids, shares of major cement companies were down between 3% and 5% in intra-day trading on Thursday. So far, there has been no comment from CCI regarding the matter. No details are updated about ongoing public raids or cartel cases. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had announced in the parliament last year that the CCI was examining complaints of cartelisation by cement companies. CCI had imposed a heavy penalty of $1.1 billion on several cement companies in 2012. They were accused of using their plants to create a shortage of cement. An appeal is still pending for that decision. CCI, in recent years, has also raided offices of other foreign companies such as Carlsberg and Glencore on allegations of price collusion in their industry. India is the second-largest cement producer in the world. The country accounted for 8% of global installed capacity in 2019. During 2019-2020, the cement sales in India stood at $9 billion.

Next Story
Equipment

SANY Named Top Chinese Construction Machinery Firm in Forbes 2000

SANY Heavy Industry (600031.SS) has been recognized as China's premier construction machinery manufacturer in Forbes' 2025 Global 2000 list, ranking 956th position worldwide. The prestigious list evaluates companies based on four key metrics: sales, profits, assets, and market value, with data calculated from the latest 12-month financial results as of April 25, 2025. This achievement underscores SANY's leadership credentials in the global heavy machinery industry, validating its forward-looking "Globalization, Digitalization, and Decarbonization" strategy and reinforcing confidence in its inn..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Vedanta Aluminium Marks Pride Month with Boost in LGBTQI+ Hiring

Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer, is redefining inclusivity in manufacturing by actively recruiting and empowering transgender individuals across its operations. As part of the Pride Month celebrations, the company has announced that it will hire 15 transgender employees in 2026, increasing the total strength to 44 across its operations in Jharsuguda, Odisha and Korba, Chhattisgarh. Vedanta Aluminium has introduced a comprehensive framework of progressive policies to support the assimilation and well-being of transgender employees. These include sensitization workshops ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Reactor Containment Successfully Tested at Rooppur NPP Unit 1

At power unit No.1 of the Rooppur NPP, which is being built in the People's Republic of Bangladesh by the Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division, tightness and strength tests have been successfully conducted at the containment of the reactor compartment. The tests confirmed full compliance with the design requirements and the highest safety standards of the reactor containment.During the tests, a compressor was used to increase the pressure inside the containment to the design value of 4.6 kgf/cm² (which corresponds to approximately 0.45 MPa) and a series of tests were conducted to co..

Advertisement

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?