The Competition Commission of India had imposed a penalty of Rs 6,307-crore on 11 cement companies for forming cartel in the sector.

Egypt's long-term credit rating has been downgraded to the junk level by Standard & Poor's, which warned it could be lowered further if deepening political turbulence undermines efforts to prop up the economy.

The Commerce Ministry will take up the issue of cement companies \"getting penalised\" for idle excess capacity with the fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Competition watchdog CCI on Monday imposed a penalty of Rs 397.51 crore on Shree Cement for indulging in restrictive trade practices.

The wider perception is that the companies will initiate litigation against the Competition Commission of India's penalty and things will take their own course. The case may take years to reach conclusion.

Denying any involvement on price cartel, Ultratech Cement and India Cements on Thursday said it will challenge the CCI order imposing hefty penalty before tribunal while others such as ACC and Ambuja Cements are mulling to make a similar move.

The Competition Commission of India said these companies were \"limiting supplies and determining prices through an anti-competitive agreement\".

The cement industry, that is suffering from overcapacity in the country, has sought reduction of taxes, including value-added tax (VAT), and liberal export sops in the upcoming budget.

Emkay Research has turned bearish on the cement sector after the MRTPC probe into price cartelisation.