Grasim Industries announces US$392m capex

India’s Grasim Industries, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is planning capex of INR31,170m (US$391.9m) in its existing lines of business this fiscal year, primarily for the creation of new capacity and modernisation of existing plants. This compares to INR19,580m in the previous fiscal.

According to Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Grasim Industries, the investment does not include the group’s paints and B2B e-commerce businesses. In January 2021 Grasim announced plans to enter the paints business with an investment of INR50,000m spread over three years, reported the Financial Express. In May 2022 that figure was doubled on the back of rising demand for decorative paints in the country. The B2B e-commerce business is getting an investment of INR20,000m.

According to Mr Birla, economic activity has risen sharply in India following the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, although inflation remains a concern, which has recently exceeded the target set by the Reserve Bank of India.