Here’s how Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla may take the world of business by storm

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Kumar Mangalam Birla is planning to foray into a business which is going to take him to next level altogether.
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Indian billionaire Birla may enter into the production of carbon fiber, which is a high-strength and light-weight composite material.

The carbon fibre business is expected to touch $4.7 billion globally by 2022.

The Aditya Birla Group, the $40 billion mining-to-mobile phone carrier conglomerate, is likely to buy the technology to manufacture carbon fiber at one of its existing overseas manufacturing facilities, one of the persons told Bloomberg. “Another option is to buy a carbon fiber plant from another company if the technology is too complex to be adapted at Birla plants,” the person said.

Due to strength and light weight, carbon fiber is becoming popular in defense manufacturing and among automobiles makers.

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The market for carbon fiber is estimated to more than double to about $4.7 billion by 2022 from $2.2 billion in 2015, according to an Allied Market Research report.

"The main positive is that it's a much lighter material versus competitors such as steel or aluminium -- but is just as strong. This makes for energy and efficiency savings for customers,” said Johnson Imode, a London-based analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

Carbon fiber is a thin long strand, far thinner than even a human hair, in which carbon atoms are bonded together in a crystal alignment that makes the fiber incredibly strong for its size. Thousands of these strands are entwined together to form a yarn, which can be then woven into a fabric or used as it is.

Nearly half of the airframe of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is comprised of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and other composites, according to the airline manufacturer.

If Birla takes the plunge, he would be the first large Indian player in the carbon fiber market.

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Birla, 49, known for his penchant for dealmaking, has sealed two dozen mergers and acquisitions in the past two decades.

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