A new decade of opportunity for Indian chemicals sector.

The Indian government's liberalization of the economy is gathering momentum and seems set to have an increasingly dramatic impact on the country's chemicals sector. Last week in Hong Kong, delegates at Chemical Week's Asia-Pacific conference heard Reliance Industries' (Bombay) executive director, Anil Ambani, outline the vast potential for growth resulting from the dismantling of "stifling controls and red tape."

Petrochemicals demand growth ran at an average 13%/year during the past decade in India and is forecast to rise 11%/year during the next few years. In the past, domestic output has been unable to keep pace with demand and the market relied heavily on …