Indocement sees Indonesia 2010 cement demand up 8 pct

* Sees Indonesia cement demand at 41.5 mln T this yr

* Indocement expects to beat national cement growth

PT Indocement Tunggal Prakasa (INTP), Indonesia's second biggest cement producer by

capacity, said on Tuesday it sees the country's cement demand rising about 8 percent this year to 41.5 million tonnes.

"Indocement should beat the national growth by about 2 to 3 percent," Christian Kartawijaya, Indocement's finance director, told Reuters, estimating its sales would grow at least nine percent this year and could rise as much as 10 or 11 percent.

This would mean slower second half national demand growth after Indonesia's cement consumption, an indicator of consumer demand, rose about 12 percent in the first half of 2010. Domestic consumption rose 0.9 percent in 2009 to 38.4 million

tonnes.

The firm, which competes with Semen Gresik (SMGR) to meet cement demand in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, is expanding its current production capacity of 18.6 million tonnes a year with another two million tonnes by 2012, he said.

"We are also studying a plan to build another 2 to 3 million tonnes of new cement plant," he said, adding that he expected the study to be completed next year. The firm's stock price has climbed 27 percent so far this year, outperforming the Jakarta index's 23 percent

rally.

Investors have poured into Indonesia's stock market in the past year, attracted by its strong growth prospects, and are now favouring consumer-related stocks on the strength of its

domestic demand, brokers say. Source: Reuters