Cement shipment levels are expected to be limited by ongoing electricity restrictions

■ The average price of plastic pipe outperformed other sectors last week, with PVC

increasing 8.6% wow. Cement prices increased 5.0% wow, and the futures glass price

was down 4.1% wow last week.

■ Raw material prices were mixed last week: soda ash recorded the highest increase,

up 9.65% wow, crude oil prices increased by 4.79% wow, and coal prices were flat

wow.

■ Building materials stocks under our coverage decreased by 8.51% wow, on average,

underperforming the Hang Seng Index (HSI) increase of 1.59%. The share prices of

companies in the cement sector slightly underperformed the average of building

materials stocks, mainly because of the ongoing electricity restrictions and high coal

prices. China Lesso [2128.HK; ADD] was the best performer last week, while Conch

Cement-A [600585.CH; ADD] was a laggard.