| Everest Kanto Cylinder, which makes industrial and CNG-storage cylinders, plans to commission its plant in China by mid-January, according to Chairman Prem Khurana. |
| The company will invest $50 million (Rs 200 crore) to manufacture one million cylinders in a 65:35 joint venture with Congzhou Gas of China. |
| For starters, the company will make 200,000 industrial cylinders and 5,000 jumbo cylinders that are used for bulk storage and transportation of gas. |
| "The advantage with China is that raw material (seamless tubes) is 15 per cent cheaper," said a senior executive with Everest Kanto, who didn't wish to be identified. But penetrating the huge Chinese market, which has seen a spurt in the use of CNG for vehicles, can be a tough task. |
| "In case we are unable to penetrate the Chinese market quickly, we have huge export orders in hand which we can service from China," added the executive. |
| In September, the company completed the expansion in Dubai, where it doubled the cylinder-making capacity to 2 lakh per annum. |
| Meanwhile, the company's board of directors on Wednesday approved the allotment of preference shares to two private equity funds through whom it has raised Rs 88 crore to expand capacity at Gandhidham and set up an SEZ in Kandla. |
| It allotted 32,00,000 shares to TVG India Investment Holdings and 3,48,027 shares to Brightwill, a subsidiary of a fund managed by CLSA Private Equity Management, the company said in a release to the bourses.. |
| These allotments were made at Rs 250 a share (a premium of Rs 248 to its face value of Rs 2), as first announced by the company on November 7. The scrip was up 0.33 per cent to Rs 323.05 on Friday on the BSE. |
| It had earlier raised $35 million (Rs 140 crore) through an FCCB issue, which is partly being used to set up operations in China. The proceeds from the preferential allotment will be used to expand capacities in Gandhidham and Kandla. |
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