| 2004 was a water shed for the polymer industry due to steep increase in price 
                                of all polymers. However, the non-vinyl masterbatch 
                                business is growing unabated. Total demand in 
                                India for non-vinyl masterbatches is estimated 
                                at 120 KT. Anti fibrillation masterbatches comprises 
                                almost 50% of this demand, outstripping demand 
                                for color masterbatches. Exhibit 1 describes the 
                                estimated consumption of non-vinyl masterbatches 
                                in India during 2004.  
                                 
                                  | Exhibit 1 |   
                                  | Demand Estimate of Non-Vinyl 
                                    Masterbatches by types in India - 2004 |   
                                  | Type |  | KT | % | KT | % |   
                                  | Colour |  |  |  | 50 | 41.7% |   
                                  |  | White | 27 | 22.5 |  |  |   
                                  |  | Black | 15 | 12.5 |  |  |   
                                  |  | Others | 8 | 6.7 |  |  |   
                                  |  |  |  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Antifibrillation |  |  |  | 60 | 50.0% |   
                                  |  |  |  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Additive |  |  |  | 10 | 8.3% |   
                                  |  |  |  |  |  |  |   
                                  |  | UV | 1 | 0.8 |  |  |   
                                  |  | Antiblock/slip | 4 | 3.3 |  |  |   
                                  |  | Nucleating | 0.5 | 0.4 |  |  |   
                                  |  | Modifier | 0.5 | 0.4 |  |  |   
                                  |  | Flame retardant | 1 | 0.8 |  |  |   
                                  |  | Others | 3 | 2.5 |  |  |   
                                  |  |  |  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Grand total |  |  |  | 120 | 100.0% |   The total non-vinyl masterbatches in 2004 grew 
                                to 120 KT at almost 15%. Polyolefin consists of 
                                the major use of non vinyl masterbatches Almost 
                                85 % of the total 120 KT is consumed in Polyolefins. 
                                Exhibit 2 summarizes the distribution of masterbatches 
                                in various polymers.  
                                 
                                  | Exhibit 2 |   
                                  | Demand estimate of non-vinyl 
                                    masterbatches by polymers in India -2004 
 |   
                                  | Polymer | KT | % |   
                                  | PE/PP | 102 | 85 |   
                                  | Styrenics | 7 | 5.8 |   
                                  | ETP | 4 | 3.3 |   
                                  | PET | 7 | 5.8 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Total | 120 | 100.0 |  The growth of masterbatches in India can be attributed 
                              to two large markets - raffia & film, which 
                                continued to grow well due to the growth of the 
                                packaging segment. Food packaging was responsible 
                                for growth in film sector, while cement, fertilizer 
                                and food packaging were responsible for growth in 
                                raffia.
 Exhibit 3 summarizes the distribution of non-vinyl 
                                masterbatches according to the application sectors. 
                                Raffia users find masterbatch providing an economy 
                                due to the use of filler. It is believed that 
                                more than 10% of masterbatch is incorporated in 
                                raffia. Its usage is still on rise and is expected 
                                to reach almost 15 % in the next 2-3 years.
 
                                 
                                  | Exhibit 3 |  |  |   
                                  | Demand estimates of non-vinyl 
                                    masterbatches by application sector in India 
                                    - 2004 |   
                                  | Application Sector | KT | % |   
                                  | Raffia | 60 | 50 |   
                                  | Film | 43 | 35.8 |   
                                  | Moulding | 13 | 10.8 |   
                                  | Fiber | 4 | 3.3 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Total | 120 | 100 |  While most of the masterbatches are supplied by 
                                the domestic producers, about 6 KT is imported. 
                                The main players in the import business are:· Ampacet for PE/PP film
 · Clariant for ETP/Fiber
 · Schulman for BOPP film
 The local producers have also started exports, 
                                mainly to the Middle East and Africa. It is estimated 
                                that 4 KT of masterbatch was exported in 2004. 
                                Exhibit 4 describes the supply of masterbatches. 
                               
                                 
                                  | Exhibit 4 |   
                                  | Demand estimates of non-vinyl 
                                    masterbatches by supply in India- 2004 |   
                                  | Source | KT | % |   
                                  | Domestic | 118 | 98.3 |   
                                  | Import | 6 | 5.0 |   
                                  | Export | 4 | 3.3 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Total | 120 | 100 |  The regional distribution is somewhat skewed in 
                                favour of the western region. It is estimated the 
                                western region consumes only 45%, but produces 70% 
                                of the total masterbatch demand. The manufacturers 
                                in the western region have to sell their products 
                                to the other regions. Exhibit 5 summarizes the regional 
                                distribution.
 
 
 
                                 
                                  | Exhibit 5 |   
                                  | Regional distribution of 
                                    non-vinyl masterbatches in India- 2004 |   
                                  | Region | Supply (%) | Consumption(%) |   
                                  | West | 70 | 45 |   
                                  | North | 17 | 20 |   
                                  | South | 10 | 25 |   
                                  | East | 3 | 10 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Total | 100 | 100 |  There are about 15 producers with sales of more 
                                than 2 KT/year. Plastiblends India Ltd. is indeed 
                                the largest Indian player with annual sale of 16 
                                KT in 2004. Superpack and Soltex are two major producers 
                                of antifibrillation masterbatch for raffia sector. 
                                There are about 20 players with the business of 
                                1KT/year. However, the total number of producers 
                                could be very high. We estimate at least another 
                                150 that have noticeable sale of average 750-800 
                                MT/year. Exhibit 6 provides a list of masterbatch 
                                producers in India.
 
 
 
                                 
                                  | Exhibit 6 |   
                                  | Major masterbatch producers- 
                                    India 2004 |   
                                  | Company | Apparent Supply |   
                                  |  | KT | % |   
                                  | Plastiblends India | 16 | 13.6 |   
                                  | Soltex | 9 | 7.6 |   
                                  | Superpack(Bajaj) | 8 | 6.8 |   
                                  | Plastichemix | 6 | 5.1 |   
                                  | Calco | 5 | 4.2 |   
                                  | Poddar | 5 | 4.2 |   
                                  | Shreyas | 5 | 4.2 |   
                                  | Aalekh | 4 | 3.4 |   
                                  | SCJ | 4 | 3.4 |   
                                  | Tara Holding | 4 | 3.4 |   
                                  | Aalok | 2 | 1.7 |   
                                  | Bankeem | 2 | 1.7 |   
                                  | K K Poly | 2 | 1.7 |   
                                  | Perfect Color | 2 | 1.7 |   
                                  | Pradeep | 2 | 1.7 |   
                                  | Rajeev | 2 | 1.7 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Total major | 78 | 66.1 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Others (> 1 KT/yr) | 20 | 16.9 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | All others (150 number) | 20 | 16.9 |   
                                  |  |  |  |   
                                  | Grand total | 118 | 100.0 |  The packaging sector is expected to grow very well 
                                in this decade. Since the growth of the masterbatch 
                                sector is pegged to the growth of the packaging 
                                sector, the masterbatch business is poised for good 
                                growth. It is estimated to grow by 12-14%, if not 
                              higher, in the next few years.-
 |