Slowdown In Fii Purchases

The Thapar group flagship Ballarpur Industries Ltd (Bilt) yesterday announced a strategic alliance with Hansol Paper Company Ltd, a $1.4 billion Korean major, under which Bilt will import and market Hansol's top-of-the-line coated paper.

The alliance was crystallised through Japanese trading house, DaiEi Paper Ltd, which represents Hansol, Bilt executive vice president and chief operating officer Rajeev R Vederah said.

Bilt has also announced a strategic alliance with DaiEi for indenting light weight coated paper for actual users in India.

The two alliances would mark Bilt's entry into trading activities. Vederah said the alliances are part of the company's strategy to extend its product range, besides increasing its turnover. He said the company was also planning to undertake manufacturing of some of the premium quality coated papers, but denied any move to have joint venture arrangements with Hansol for its proposed premium brand coated paper brands.

He said Bilt hopes to capture nearly 20-25 per cent of high end coated paper market in the country, which is fast replacing glazed newsprint, used in printing glossy magazines.

This market in the country is currently estimated at 50,000 tonne and is growing at a rate of 10 per cent per annum, Vederah said.

In the first year, Bilt hopes to market 8,000 to 10,000 tonne of the coated paper imported from Hansol and double it the next year, he said, adding the alliance would provide the company an opportunity to learn the market.

Already, Bilt has placed order for import of 200 tonne of the coated paper from the Korean major and the supply was expected to land by the month end, Vederah said.

Seven dealers have been appointed by Bilt to give a thrust to marketing the product and 15 printers would use the paper, he said.

On the financial performance of Bilt, he said the company's net profit in the 9-month period ended June 30, 1999 (the company has changed its fiscal year from April-march to July-June), was expected to be Rs 16 crore.