INDIA'S PSL Ltd is planning to set up a pipe-making unit in the United States, and is reported to have raised $10-11 million through a qualified institutional placement, a senior official said recently. "We have actually listed a few projects... one of them is in the US," managing director Ashok Punj said. Indian pipe makers anticipate a surge in demand from the US in the near future and some are setting up facilities there in partnerships with local firms. As an example, Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren, one of PSL's competitors, has already formed a joint venture with US oilfield company Lone Star Technologies to manufacture spiral-welded tubulars in the US. PSL, which is India's second-largest pipe maker by volume, last year incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary, PSL USA, in Delaware, to set-up a pipe mill either by itself or through an associate or joint venture company. "There is a demand-supply mismatch for large gas pipelines in the US," Mr Punj said. "They are importing a lot of large-diameter pipes from Europe and India." There is clearly huge potential for replacement demand and new demand for pipes in the US. "There is a rising potential demand from the US and Canada...The (pipeline) networks are bigger spread over larger areas," Amal Rao, an analyst with Mumbai-based Pioneer Intermediaries, confirmed. Also, the rising demand for supply of drinking water is leading to an expansion of the pipeline network and has helped boost sales, Mr Rao pointed out. "The idea is to source the raw materials locally or globally and make the pipes in US," Mr Punj continued. Part of the funds PSL has raised will also be used in the second phase of expansion of its pipe-making and coating unit at Hamriyah Free Trade Zone in the UAE. This unit is expected to begin operations next month (May), and will have an annual capacity of 75,000 tons. To keep up with rising demand, the company is also looking at proposals to set up units in Iran, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia.