FMCG firm Dabur today said it will invest around Rs 125 crore in three years in Sri Lanka as it enters the island nation by forming a new subsidiary and setting a manufacturing facility there.
The company said its new overseas subsidiary -- Dabur Lanka -- has signed an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to establish the venture in the country.
"We will invest around Rs 125 crore in the next three years in Sri Lanka. Of which, Rs 70 crore will go in on setting up a new manufacturing facility there," Dabur India Chief Executive Officer Sunil Duggal told PTI.
He said the new facility will be export-oriented and will have the capacity to produce 2.8 lakh cases of fruit-based beverages every month. It is expected to start operation in August-September, 2012.
"The demand for our fruit-based juices and beverages under the 'Real' brand has been reporting strong growth. As continued high growth is expected in the future too, we are setting up this new facility to augment our production capacity for fruit-based beverages," Duggal said.
The company said the Lanka operation will help in strengthening presence in the SAARC region. At present, Dabur has 17 manufacturing facilities, of which eight are outside India.
It has manufacturing presence in Nepal and Bangladesh, apart from other overseas locations like Dubai, Egypt, Turkey, Ras-al-Khaimah and Nigeria.
"Building a manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka was an important strategic decision for Dabur as manufacturing presence here gives us a competitive edge that we intend to utilise in full," Duggal said.
Spread over 50 acres, the plant will employ around 75 people. The firm plans to increase that to around 200 employees by 2013-14.
Shares of Dabur India were trading at Rs 102.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, up 0.79%, from the previous close.
