The Hindu Business Line : Textile scrips hog limelight, more IPOs to come: CITI chief

TEXTILE companies have begun to draw attention of the stock market. All good textile shares have come to limelight in recent weeks, according to Mr Vinod K. Ladia, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), formerly known as the ICMF.

Thanks to all the developments that had occurred to the industry - abundant cotton production in the last consecutive two seasons, excise duty exemptions, low interest rate regime under technology upgradation fund scheme (TUFS) and improved domestic market, textile industry has become a `sun-shining' industry, said Mr Ladia, while inaugurating the two-day chief executive officers meet on textile industry organised by the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) here on Tuesday.

The domestic per capita textile consumption is poised to go up from 18 metres to 32 metres. At the same time, the cost of funds for the industry available at eight to nine per cent band is also offered as low as 3.5 to four per cent band, if one opted it through the TUFS route. However, the areas of concern for Mr Ladia are the high power cost, which has gone up, thanks to the rise in the oil prices and the non-availability of textile machinery for those seeking to expanding their capacity/modernisation.

The consolidation of the textile industry is the need of the hour and to achieve this objective, the CITI has been formed to widen the arena and bring sectors such as powerloom, textile processors, woollen, synthetic/man-made fibre sector, besides, the textile machinery industry under one roof. There is a need to create single common forum for the entire textile industry to rise in one `voice' as in the case of the IT industry, which has a lone representative forum, Nasscom.

Later talking to presspersons Mr Ladia said that almost all the sub-sectors in the textile industry now find representation in the CITI except those representing the art silk and the synthetic fibre manufacturers who still remain outside. Efforts are one to rope them too.

Mr Ladia said that the profitability of the select textile companies cutting across different sectors had gone up four fold with exports driving up their profitability.

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