Asian Paints, India's major paint manufacturer has announced that it has temporarily ceased its Phthalic Anhydride making plant at Ankleshwar, Gujarat.

The source close to development has revealed that the temporary shut down is due to fall in demand of chemicals worldwide.

Giving further remarks on the shut down, the source disclosed that the time period of the closure could be between one week and one month.

In India, Asian Paints is having two plants; one is situated at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, and the latter in Gujarat which has been shut down.

According to the reports, the proposed two plants contribute around 3% to the annual revenue of the conglomerate.

In the profit and loss account, the company has registered 15.5 % rise in net profit at Rs 131.5 crore in the second quarter of the current financial year against same period in the previous fiscal.

Being third largest paint company in Asia, Asian Paints operates in Berger International, Apco Coatings, SCIB Paints and Taubmans.

Scrip of Asian Paints closed at Rs 945, down 1.65 percent on National Stock Exchange (NSE). The total volume of shares traded at NSE was 131,192.