ITC is eyeing both organic and inorganic growth for its paperboards division and as a first step will start off with an investment of Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion) for enhancing the capacity of the division Y C Deveshwar, Chairman ITC, said, the company would be adding 75,000 tonne and would go full stream by November, this year.

While the company would also look at acquisitions in the space, Deveshwar added that there was very little to acquire in this business.

After having attained leadership status in the home country in the paperboards business, the company was endeavouring to become leaders in the Afro Asian region.

Deveshwar explained that this was in line with the strategy of the company to achieve a global status in whichever business it operated in.

As part of this strategy, ITC would also look at setting up hotels in the international market at a future date.

But, Deveshwar clarified that this would happen after the company completed the chain in the domestic market.

In fact, ITC would also take the apparel business to a global plane. Deveshwar said, ideally the company would like to register the 'Wills' brand in the developed countries where the returns were higher.

The company has already acquired the brand in America and Japan and would roll out the product in these markets, at the right juncture.

However, while all new businesses would be given a reasonable time frame to perform, the company would not pursue the business if it failed to attain leadership status.

The emphasis would be on building a market position. "We will exit businesses where we cannot become leaders" said Deveshwar.

He clarified that each business had a competitive circumstance and therefore the evaluation time frame would also be different for each business.

The company would first try and change leadership of that business, or try finding a partner for the business and only as a last resort would exit the business.

Deveshwar said that there was great potential in the value added foods and cotton based products in India.

The company would look at investing in the entire value chain of the product after establishing presence at the market-end.