Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Oct 11, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Oct 11, 2005 |
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Corporate
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New Projects Pilkington plans to set up subsidiary in India Neha Kaushik
New Delhi , Oct. 10 PILKINGTON United Kingdom Ltd, one of the world's largest manufacturers of glass and glazing products for building, automotive and related technical markets, has now set its sights on India.The company is planning to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India, which would initially undertake wholesale cash-and-carry business of float glass. Industry officials are watching this development with interest, as this could be a precursor to Pilkington commencing manufacturing in India, where global float glass makers such as Saint Gobain and Asahi have already made substantial investments. In fact, Pilkington, in its recent annual report, had identified India, China, Russia and West Asia as the top four priority areas for growth. The company, which had revenues of 3.96 billion euros last year, has manufacturing operations in 24 countries and sales in over 130 countries. The company's entry will heat up competition in the Indian glass market, which also boasts of sizeable domestic players such as Modiguard. The domestic market for glass has been growing rapidly. In fact, a recent study by a US magazine had predicted that India and China would be the biggest drivers of flat glass demand till about 2008. The per-capita glass consumption in India is only about 0.56 kg a year compared with 3.5 kg in China and 6 kg in Thailand. In addition, only four per cent of the glass used by India's construction industry is treated (either glazed or laminated). Not surprisingly, glass manufacturers are ramping up their operations in the country. Asahi India Glass, for instance, is investing about Rs 600 crore for setting up an integrated glassmaking facility in Uttaranchal. The plant is expected to have a capacity of 700 million tonnes (mt) per day, and to be operational by the end of 2006. French glass major Saint Gobain has invested about Rs 700 crore for its second float glass plant and an automotive glass plant in Tamil Nadu. Demand is being driven by the upsurge in construction activities (in office complexes and shopping malls) across the country. In fact, estimates point out that about 300 shopping malls are set to come up over the next five years.
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