Reliance Industries to build up rubber business

A new major player may be set to enter the global rubber industry: India’s Reliance Industries (RIL) intends to invest in building up a rubber business to meet growing demand in Asia. "We are developing a whole new rubber business,” company chairman Mukesh Ambani told India’s Economic Times. “We will make RIL one of the world's largest players in rubber as the whole tyre industry moves to Asia. The big trend is that if you look at next ten years, the projections for automobile growth is all China, India and Asia focused." In total, RIL plans to invest some US$10 to $12 billion in its chemical business to strengthen the company’s portfolio in a number of sectors.