Week in Review: A brief overview from the primary aluminium industry

<p>AlCircle helps you to keep track of news that happened in the world of aluminium. Last week, Qatar's Qatalum aluminium plant faced outbound logistical challenges following a diplomatic row with neighbours in the Middle-East and neighbours blocked shipments through their ports. A few major companies secured license contracts and others expanded their downstream operations.</p> <p>Here&rsquo;s a compilation of the top trending stories covering the primary aluminium vertical for the week that went by:</p> <p><strong>Bosnia&rsquo;s Aluminij unit secures power supply licence</strong></p> <p>Bosnian aluminium smelter Aluminij announced that its unit AL Trade has secured two years license from FERK, the energy regulator of Bosnia&rsquo;s Federation.&nbsp; FERK has granted a license to AL Trade to supply electricity.</p> <p><strong>Rusal plans to expand its aluminium &amp; value added output by 2021</strong></p> <p>Rusal said it plans to boost its aluminium production by 19% to 4.4 million tonnes by 2021, in order to cater to the rising global demand. The company expects the global demand to grow by 4 to 5 per cent annually till 2021. The global demand for primary aluminium is expected to increase by 13.5 million tonnes to reach 73.2 million tonnes by 2021. The company also plans to boost value-added product sales by 47% to 2.5 million tonnes in 2020 from 2016.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/rusal%20demand.jpg" alt="news" width="448" height="300" /></strong></p> <p><strong>Qatalum starts exporting aluminium via alternative ports, Hydro CEO confirms</strong></p> <p>Qatar Aluminium is now exporting metals via ports in Kuwait and Oman, as well as a Qatari container port. &ldquo;There's a recently completed container port in Qatar which we've begun using, and we also have shipments through Kuwait and Oman, solving this for the short term," said Svein Richard Brandtzaeg, Hydro Chief Executive.</p> <p><strong>Trump may implement new legislations on steel and aluminium import &lsquo;very soon&rsquo;</strong></p> <p>President Donald Trump announced at a Cabinet meeting that the United States will soon implement new legislation to control the dumping of foreign steel and aluminium in the country.</p> <p>{googleAdsense}</p> <p><strong>Baise Mining Group starts production of its Coal-Power-Aluminium Integrated Project</strong></p> <p>Baise Mining Group has started production of its coal-power-aluminium integrated high-purity aluminium project. Coal-Power-Aluminium Integrated Project would produce aluminium with Al content as high as over 99.99 per cent.</p> <p><strong>INTUC asks for inquiry into Nalco&rsquo;s overseas investments</strong></p> <p>Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)&nbsp;announced that they have asked for a judicial inquiry into Nalco&rsquo;s all overseas investment. INTUC&rsquo;s State president Ramachandra Khuntia said that they have demanded for investigation as Nalco&rsquo;s profit is reducing due to wrong investment decision.</p> <p><strong>Press Metal expects to boost earnings in FY 2017 on the back of strong aluminium prices</strong></p> <p>Press Metal Bhd, the largest aluminium smelting firm in Indonesia expects stronger financial performance for the year ending Dec 31, 2017 (FY17) driven by improved aluminium prices and increased output.</p> <p><strong>Alba appoints new Director of Casthouse</strong></p> <p>Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based international aluminium smelter, announced the promotion of Abdul Rasool Ahmed Abdul Rasool as the Director of Casthouse.</p>