Only three applicants for 14 cement production licenses? The Industrial Development Authority will not extend the deadline to apply for cement licenses, which passed yesterday at 6pm, said IDA head Ismail Gaber. By Al Mal’s count, that means just three companies — including South Valley Cement Co. and El Sewedy Cement Co. — had applied for the 14 available licenses. As we noted on Sunday, six unnamed companies had been planning to form consortiums to apply for the licenses and had requested a one-month extension. The new production licenses met with limited appetite from existing players in the industry, who believe the market is oversupplied and that new capacity can be brought online long before Egypt switches to a deficit market.