News: Reliance, Rohm to set up chemical unit in India

(HT 22/03/2007) Mumbai - Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries and the Philadelphia-based Rohm & Haas will jointly invest $250-300 million to set up a facility that makes chemicals used in paints and plastics.

The facility will have a capacity of 200,000 tonnes at Jamnagar in Gujarat, which will be jointly owned by Reliance Industries and Rohm & Haas.

“The companies signed an agreement today. They will be investing something $250-300 million in the plant,” sources close to the development said. The new facility is expected to spur development of super absorbent polymers used primarily in the manufacture of diapers.

“While the key objective would be to serve the domestic market, the complex could also export acrylic acid and derivatives,'' a Reliance Industries statement said. Chemicals make up about 45 per cent of the company's earnings.

Rohm & Haas is the world's biggest producer of acrylic monomers for paints and plastics with a capacity to produce 1.22 million tonnes.

The output from the Jamnagar plant will be used mainly for paint production. Being an environment-friendly product, the demand is expected to grow,” a Reliance Industries executive said.

Reliance Industries is also planning to build a $3 billion chemical plant near its Jamnagar refinery, which will make ethylene and propylene, used in plastics. It is planning to spend close to $12 billion to buy a majority holding in US-based Dow Chemicals, according to industry reports. Reliance Industries has reportedly created a Rs 1 lakh crore war chest for potential buyouts in the petrochemicals and oil businesses.