Century Ply ready with strategy for Laos crisis

Country's leading interior infrastructure maker Century Plyboards India is ready with an alternate strategy for the Laos crisis that banned export of raw wood and veneer since over a year.

"We have installed a plywood unit in Laos and in the next fiscal (FY18') it will produce and export plywood worth around Rs 120 crore. With this, the subsidiary will turn profitable," Century Ply chairman Sajjan Bhajanka said in an interview.

"We are still lobbying with Laos government to allow export of veneer - at least conditional - from Laos which could add another Rs 100 crore to the subsidiary with higher production levels," he said.

Century Ply Laos Co. Ltd is a step down subsidiary of Century Ply (Singapore) Pte Ltd with 90 per cent holding carrying out all investments in the small Asian country rich in wood stock.

Century Plyboards holds 51 per cent in the Singapore subsidiary formed with a Laos based partner. Total investment in and through Singapore subsidiary is around Rs 80-90 crore.

Along with the plyboard unit, the Laos company has two more veneer units under its direct control and two other units for exclusive outsourcing arrangements.

Bhajanka said, till this fiscal the company had managed to import veneer sourced from partners having existing quota to feed Indian units.

On the Myanmar subsidiary of Century Plyboards, Bhajanka said, the situation is set to improve as the export ban issue is settling down and fresh cutting will take place, but, by the time stock comes, it will be 2017 end.

Laos and Myanmar bases are mainly focussed towards sourcing raw materials.