The Aditya Birla Group to Invest US $ 350 Million

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Friday, March 17, 2006 - The Aditya Birla Group
today announced an investment of US $ 350 million in Lao People’s Democratic
Republic (Laos) for setting up of a project to raise pulp wood specie
plantations and a pulp plant for its Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) business.
Grasim Industries Limited, India, Thai Rayon Public Co. Ltd., Thailand, and
PT Indo Bharat Rayon, Indonesia, - all of whom belong to the Aditya Birla
Group, will invest in this project as equity holders.

The Group has secured 50,000 hectares of land from the Government of Laos on
lease for a 75 year period. Eucalyptus plantations which would be raised on
the land would provide the feed for the Pulp Plant. The project is to be
implemented in two phases, first the plantation phase and second - the
setting up of the Dissolving Pulp Plant, given that Eucalyptus plantations
normally have a growth cycle of 7 years. The commissioning of the Pulp Plant
would coincide with the harvest of the first plantation, i.e., the 7th year.
The pulp produced in Laos would be exported to the Group’s Rayon Fibre
manufacturing units in India, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as newer
locations.

Avers Mr.Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Aditya Birla Group Chairman, “This
integrated plantation and Pulp Plant project with a 200,000 tpa capacity, is
a forward step, planned ahead of time to ensure that our future expansion
needs are met”.

“In the Cellulosic Fibre business, we are in a leadership position globally
and our intent is to grow the business exponentially. We will be requiring
far larger quantities of pulp as our plans fructify. Our strategy to
maintain our edge dictates the setting up holistic backward integration from
the plantation to the final VSF production”, Mr. Birla added.

Mr. Shailendra Jain, Director, the Group’s Pulp & Fibre business, stated
that “Laos is at the take-off stage of economic growth and our entry is just
rightly timed to leverage the liberal foreign investment environment there.
Laos is also strategically located to support our rayon fibre manufacturing
plans in the South East Asia region where the textile hubs are growing”.

The Aditya Birla Group’s seven Pulp and Fibre Plants span India, Thailand,
Indonesia and Canada, with a collective capacity in excess of 775,000 tpa.

A US$ 8 billion conglomerate, with a market capitalisation in excess of US$
11 billion, the Aditya Birla Group is anchored by an extraordinary force of
72,000 employees belonging to over 20 different nationalities. Over 30 per
cent of its revenues flow from its operations across the world. The Group’s
products and service offer distinctive customer solutions. Its 72
state-of-the-art manufacturing units and sectoral services span India,
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Egypt, Canada, Australia and
China.