Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group is considering investment of Rs 7,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh in the next two years, primarily to expand existing businesses.
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The Indian multinational has interests in sectors like apparel, metals, cement, telecom, chemicals, fertilisers, financial services and IT services. The group, which operates in around 40 countries, had reported revenues of approximately $41 billion in 2015, behind the salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group ($100 billion) and billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries ($74 billion).
Currently, the Aditya Birla Group has investments worth Rs 10,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh across sectors like telecom, retail and cement.
At an investment summit on Friday (January 27), group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said: "As we go along, we expect to invest another Rs 7,000 crore in the next two years. This will be towards the expansion of our existing businesses."
The Mumbai-based company has set up a cement plant with a capacity of 5.6 million tonnes. "We are acquiring a 5 million tonnes per annum plant at an investment of Rs 3,000 crore located near Amaravati city," Birla said.
In the telecom sector, Idea cellular, which currently has eight million customers, will be extending 3,500 cell sites, largely 3G and 4G, at an investment of over Rs 1,300 crore.
With a consolidated turnover of about US$15 billion, Hindalco Industries Limited, the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, is the world's largest aluminium-rolling company, and one of the biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia.
The group has also ventured into education and under Aditya Birla Group of Schools, it operates in 12 states across India. Additionally, in the branded apparel and retail business, the company runs about 240 stores and is also looking at increasing its presence in the financial services sector.
