Commenting on the capacity hike, Ambani told shareholders at the annual general meeting that the polypropylene output at Jamnagar is being increased from 4 lakh tonnes to 6 lakh tonnes per annum. "This will be the world's single largest polypropylene plant and will rank Reliance as the fifth largest manufacturer of polypropylene globally," Ambani said.

``We are looking into the matter,'' he said in reply to a query from a shareholder whether Reliance was planning to take over firms in South-east Asia. He said the Asian crisis reduced the availability of funds for new projects in the region.

``As a result, more than 50 major petrochemical projectsin Asia have either been cancelled or delayed,'' he said. This slowed fresh capacity creation and eased pressures on supply imbalances. Depressed world petrochemicals prices could see an early reversal. ``With international prices of several petrochemical products near 20-year lows, the potential downslide from current levels does seem limited,'' he said.

Braving the rain, thousands of shareholders attended the meeting to approve the odd lot buyback scheme of the company for the benefit of small shareholders. The meeting also approved a fresh resolution of extending the validity period of the company's share buyback scheme upto September 25, 1999.

Ambani said under the odd lot buyback scheme, shareholders would receive the market value of their holdings without any deduction for service charges and brokerage. The company will form a Trust to implement the scheme, he said. Ambani said the domestic markets offer the best growth opportunities for Reliance. "Reliance's future growth will be primarily drivenby the tremendous potential of the huge and ever expanding domestic markets in India," he said. Demand for polyester and its intermediates grew at 30 per cent during 1997/98 (April-March).