Mudra to invest Rs 300-mn in Silvassa

Mumbai: Mudra Lifestyle, an integrated readymade garments manufacturer, is planning to set up a greenfield spandex yarn project at Silvassa with an investment of Rs 300 crore.

The project with a proposed capacity of three million metre yarn per month will help achieve the targeted capacity of five million metres per month from the current level of two million metres. Besides, it would also enable the company to manufacture innerwears, ladieswears, lingeries etc.

The company imports the yarn from China, South Korea and Japan.

The company, which is planning to start the project by 2009-end, is searching for a finance partner to part-fund the project. Earlier, the company was planning to raise about Rs 200 crore through foreign currency convertible bond. But, due to a slump in the stock market, it is looking for a partner to invest the sum. The company plans to take a loan of Rs 64 crore while promoters would finance Rs 36 crore.

The technology, plant and machinery for this project has already been finalised with Mitsubishi Rayon Engineering (MRE), Japan.

'We are in talks with a number of investors but nothing concrete has come out yet. But talks with MRE is almost finalised,' said Murarilal Agarwal, chairman and managing director, Mudra Lifestyle.

The ongoing expansion envisaging an investment of Rs 200 crore at its Tarapur plant would ramp up the firm's total capacity to 130,000 metres per day of cotton and linen garments.

The company will add capacity to make two lakh garment pieces a month. In January, the company had expanded its capacity to one lakh pieces. If the latest expansion plan is executed, its production capacity will reach about six lakh pieces per month. It sells fabrics under the Mudra brand and supplies to several domestic textile companies including the leading brands Peter England, John Miller etc. The company is also ramping up its yarn dyeing and processing capacity from the current 35,000 metres per day to 105,000 metres per day by June 2009.

Mudra is targeting to enhance overseas presence with at least 35 per cent of its turnover in FY09 through its planned retail franchisee stores in the UK, Switzerland and Germany.

Meanwhile, talks are on to expand the firm's presence in the domestic market under Mudra brand suitings, shirtings, night suits, party wears etc with 200 franchisee retail stores in tier I and tier II cities across the country by October.