Birla Corp looking at overseas acquisitions

Kolkata, Oct 27 (IANS) Birla Corp, flagship company of M.P. Birla group, is examining overseas acquisitions, a top company official said here Tuesday.
“We are examining opportunities in emerging markets for cement companies. But nothing has been finalized yet,” company chairman Harsh Vardhan Lodha told reporters at the sidelines of Birla Corp’s annual general meeting.

The newly-appointed chairman said the company also planned to invest Rs.2,350 crore on capacity expansion over the next four years, which will take its annual cement manufacturing capacity to 11.50 million tonnes.

“In the next two years we would be investing Rs.1,150 crore for brownfield expansion and Rs.1,200 crore for setting up a three-million tonne greenfield plant at Satna,” Lodha said.

Birla Corp has cement plants at Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Chanderia in Rajasthan, Durgapur in West Bengal and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Brownfield expansion includes setting up a 1.2 million tonne plant and 35 MW captive power plant at Chanderia.

Additionally, it will involve increasing the grinding capacity at Durgapur by six lakh tonnes along with installing of a 17.5 MW captive power plant, as well as replacing the cement ball mills at Satna and setting up a coal washery and 35 MW captive power plant.

The company is also planning to set up a one-million-tonne cement plant in Assam on an investment of Rs.500 crore.

“We have been shortlisted by the Assam government and we have to take a call whether we would be signing the memorandum of understanding with them for setting up the plant,” Lodha said.

Birla Corp, which has a capacity to produce seven million tonnes of cement annually, also has interest in jute, autotrim products, vinoleum, carbide and gases, and textiles.

Meanwhile, the company has asked its 1,000 employees at Soorah Jute Mill to relocate themselves to Birla Jute Mill at Birlapur in South 24 Parganas district as it has decided to close down the first unit