Asian Paints is talking to southern States for land for setting up a six-lakh kilolitre decorative paints project. KBS Anand, MD & CEO, told reporters here that the company was talking to a number of States in the southern region for the project, which would require 130 acres and a total investment of ₹2,500 crore.
“Availability of land, water and power are the key issues for the project. There is a growing market in the region. Though we are present there through Andhra Pradesh and the Tamil Nadu units, there is enough room for growth. The Andhra Pradesh Government (earlier) did not allow us capacity expansion,” he said after a press meet to announce the three-day Indian Paint Conference.
According to sources, the company was in talks with both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for land. The Karnataka Government in September had consented to allow only 55-acres in Mysore district for the project.
Asian Paint MD said the company through its Singapore subsidiary Berger International Ltd was in the process of setting up a small 25,000-litre decorative paint unit in Indonesia. “Now we are in the process of acquiring land. Earlier, we had obtained the initial regulatory permission of a greenfield project”, he added.
Anand also said that its acquisition of controlling stake in a 30-million-litre paint company in Ethiopia last year has shaped up well in the context of stunted growth in its Eyptian unit. The Ethiopian entity, acquired through it wholly-owned subsidiary Asian Paints (International) Ltd, Mauritius, is likely to see capacity expansion.
The Ethiopian company is one of the leaders in Ethiopia and is engaged in the manufacturing of decorative paints, industrial paints, automotive paints, other coatings and adhesives.