SRL will export bulbs and fluoroscent tubes besides glass components to Taiwan, Korea and China and also explore other markets in the region, Agarwal said.

"While we will export goods worth Rs 4 crore to these three countries, we expect more orders to materialise from neighbouring nations," he said.The company has been mainly concentrating on the African and Middle East markets for its forex inflows, but now plans to turn to the lucrative south-east Asian markets, he said.

"Surya Roshni had been earlier exporting to south-east Asia before the currency crisis in the region madeour products uncompetitive," he said adding that with low grade cheap products coming from China, its share in the Korean market had dwindled.

The company also exports finished products to Sweden, England and France where it has a sizeable presence although in value terms, Egypt, South Africa and Sri Lanka contribute 10 per cent each to its export turnover.In the previous year, Surya Roshni had earned Rs 16 crore from exports."Till now, we have mainly concentrated on the domestic market where we have made our profits, but we now plan to look at new export markets where we can expand our operations," Agarwal said.

Glass shells used for manufacture of bulbs could be a major revenue earner, he said and added that the company had recently invested in a high-speed glass manufacturing unit which could cater to the export market.

The company has also planned a major expansion of its product line by investing about Rs 300 crore beginning 2001.

At present, the Rs 710 crore company is focussing on backwardintegration, agarwal said adding "we want to first consolidate the gains made over the last 16 years before initiating the next stage."