Mumbai: Reliance Industries has furthered its position as the world's biggest polyester producer by agreeing to buy the assets of Hualon Corporation, a sick Malaysian corporation. Upon completion, the deal will increase Reliance's polyester capacity by 25 percent to 2.5 million tonnes and boost its annual revenue by about $1 billion.

Reliance, which captured India's polyester market in the 1980s and 1990s through aggressive capacity build-ups and cheap acquisitions, is looking to expand overseas.

In 2004, it bought Trevira, a specialised polyester firm for about $80 million. The acquisition gave it access to a niche product range of filaments and fibres.

Hualon, in contrast, makes commodity polyester yarn and fibre and cloth. Reliance will gain about 5,00,000 tonne of yarn and fibre capacity, plus plants in two other locations for other textile products.

Additional capacity apart, the buyout will also give Reliance access to Hualon's clients, including some of the world's largest retail chains. Hualon is among Malaysia's top five exporters and its two plants churn out fabric that are used by major textile and retail firms around the world.