India anticipates new investment of some $10 billion in plastics processing over next five to seven years, according to Kamal Nanavaty.
He should know. As president of the polymers and crackers sector for India's petrochemical and plastics behemoth Reliance Industries Ltd., Nanavaty has access to some of the best intelligence on the fast-growing Indian plastics market.
Mumbai-based Reliance ranks as India's largest private enterprise with annual sales of $27 billion. The company accounts for nearly 3 percent of India's national economy, 12 percent of the nation's exports and has grown at a compounded annual rate of 25 percent for the last 15 years.
Reliance - India's largest oil and gas producer - also is the subcontinent's biggest maker of polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and PET resins, with an estimated 45 percent market share in polymers overall. The firm is a major cell-phone network provider, runs a financial services business, and recently launched a nationwide chain of retail stores.
India and its population of 1.1 billion people clearly will continue to climb in global prominence, due in part to the country's annual gross domestic product growth of 8-9 percent.
India's young demographic - 70 percent of its population is under the age of 40 - is expected to help per-capita plastics consumption double to 22 pounds in the next five to seven years. The global average is 55 pounds.
Such bullishness may have contributed to Reliance's decision to sponsor a delegation of 15-20 executives from leading Indian plastics companies to attend the March 9-12 Plastics News Executive Forum in Tampa, Fla.
``This, we believe, is a major opportunity for those U.S.-based fabricators who are looking for growth,'' Nanavaty said. ``To understand how fabricators can prosper we have a team of most leading and highly successful CEOs from India, attending your forum to share their experience, explore business opportunities and evaluate strategic alliances that are mutually rewarding.''
Reliance also will use the occasion to help promote India's biggest plastics trade show, Plastindia, which will next take place Feb. 4-9, 2009, in New Delhi.
Among the 15 delegation participants confirmed so far are top executives from injection molders, film and bag makers, tube and pipe extruders, a PVC flooring producer, rotomolders, compounders, resin distributors and makers of packaging and plastics machinery. Nanavaty will deliver a luncheon address on March 10, and at least five other senior Reliance officials plan to attend. For a complete list of Indian delegation members, go to www.plasticsnews.com/forum2008/india.html.
The Executive Forum, to be held at Saddlebrook Resort, will feature 30 speakers on a broad spectrum of topics ranging from sustainability and China sourcing to resin prospects, innovation and merger and acquisition trends. See the full agenda at www.plasticsnews.com/forum2008.