BANGKOK January 14, 2016 12:00 pm JST It could have been seen as a belated homecoming, but for Aloke Lohia, the inspection of a factory on the outskirts of New Delhi last November was just another businesses trip.

Lohia, an Indian national, is chief executive of Thai petrochemical company Indorama Ventures. He explained that the purchase was simply a matter of timing.

"I want the right opportunity at the right price," he said.

The acquisition, completed in December, marked the 21st market for his company to enter. At the time, it had been 35 years since Lohia left India and 27 years since he set up his business in Thailand.

SUCCESS IN A BOTTLE Indorama Ventures is the world's top producer of resin used to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles. One out of six beverage containers is made with the company's material. Its supply chain stretches across four continents and is vital to the global business strategies of corporate giants such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle.

Lohia, now 57, views himself as religiously and culturally Indian. But he was not sentimental about returning to India because, he said, nationality is not particularly important to him.

Like their Chinese counterparts, countless Indian businesspeople have crisscrossed the globe in search of better opportunities. Lohia inherited his business acumen and international ambitions from his father.

Lohia's family belongs to the Marwari ethnic group, known for its keen business sense. His father sold agricultural produce and textiles around the world, conducting business in Burma until the 1962 coup forced him to leave the country, and later in Indonesia.

Initially, Lohia and his two brothers assisted their father in his textile business in Indonesia. But as the business grew, their father told them to look for opportunities abroad. The idea was to minimize risks through diversification. One brother went to India, while another stayed in Indonesia. Lohia, the youngest, headed for Thailand in 1988 when he was 29 years old. He received $5.5 million from his father and more funding from banks to set up a biochemical plant that eventually became Indorama Ventures.

FITTING IN The Thai economy is dominated by ethnic Chinese businesspeople, who have embraced the local culture more fully than their Indian counterparts.

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Purac and Indorama Ventures in Alliance Discussion for PLA

2/23/2011
CSM's subsidiary Purac and Indorama Ventures PLC (IVL) are in discussions to set up a Polylactic acid (PLA) manufacturing facility in Thailand, with an initial capacity of 10,000 tons per annum being raised to 100,000 tons per annum after developing application specific grades. This product would be based on high purity (GMO free) Lactides produced by Purac. The Lactide monomers for the production of PLA will be sourced from Purac's Lactides production plant in Rayong, Thailand as well as from other Purac sites.

This PLA is GMO-free, natural, and a biodegradable material that is a sustainable alternative to oil-based polymers. PLA has a lower carbon footprint than most other polymers and can be marketed as a green alternative for packaging materials, fibres and non-woven textiles. The products would be marketed by IVL through its existing global marketing and sales network.

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