Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

The most significant closing exchange rates and the approximate average exchange rates for statement of financial position accounts and statement of operations accounts as of December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, were as follows:


	2018				2017				2016
Currency	Closing		Average		Closing		Average		Closing		Average
Dollar		19.6500		19.2583		19.6500		18.8800		20.7200		18.7200
Euro		22.5169		22.7036		23.5866		21.4122		21.7945		20.6564
British Pound Sterling		25.0557		25.6059		26.5361		24.4977		25.5361		25.0731
Colombian Peso		0.0060		0.0065		0.0066		0.0064		0.0069		0.0062
Egyptian Pound		1.0943		1.0806		1.1082		1.0620		1.1234		1.8261
Philippine Peso		0.3737		0.3655		0.3936		0.3747		0.4167		0.3927

Summary of Maximum Average Useful Lives of Fixed Assets

As of December 31, 2018, the average useful lives by category of fixed assets were as follows:


		Years
Administrative buildings		32
Industrial buildings		29
Machinery and equipment in plant		16
Ready-mix trucks and motor vehicles		8
Office equipment and other assets		6

Summary of Statutory Tax Rates

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, the statutory tax rates in CEMEX’s main operations were as follows:


Country	2018	2017	2016
Mexico	30.0%	30.0%	30.0%
United States	21.0%	35.0%	35.0%
United Kingdom	19.3%	19.3%	20.0%
France	34.4%	34.4%	34.4%
Germany	28.2%	28.2%	28.2%
Spain	25.0%	25.0%	25.0%
Philippines	30.0%	30.0%	30.0%
Colombia	37.0%	40.0%	40.0%
Egypt	22.5%	22.5%	22.5%
Others	7.8% – 39.0%	7.8% – 39.0%	7.8% – 39.0%

Summary of Estimated Range of Opening Statement of Financial Position Effects

Upon adoption of IFRS 16 beginning on January 1, 2019, CEMEX has estimated a range for its opening statement of financial position effects as of January 1, 2017, as follows:


		As of January 1, 2017
		Low			High
Assets for the right-of-use	US$		920			942
Financial liabilities			(1,030	)		(1,060	)

Retained earnings¹	US$		(110	)		(118	)

The effect refers to a timing difference between depreciation expense of the assets calculated under the straight-line method and the interest expense from the liability determined under the effective interest rate method since the beginning of the contracts. This difference will reverse over the remaining life of the contracts.