LONDON (Reuters) - Outsourcing group Bunzl (>> Bunzl plc) is on the lookout for acquisitions in India, its chief executive said on Friday, and is ready to pounce when it finds the right opportunity to tap into the world's tenth-largest economy.

The distributor of products such as carrier bags and food packaging to clients including retail giant Wal-Mart (>> Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) has been on a steady acquisition drive, spending 1.7 billion pounds on 80 deals over the past ten years.

The company, which counts Microsoft founder Bill Gates among its leading shareholders, is one of only a handful of businesses listed on the FTSE 100 blue-chip index to have steadily increased annual dividends for the past 20 years.

Bunzl has conducted research into possible opportunities in India, CEO Michael Roney told Reuters, but the company is waiting for the right time to move into the market.

"It's certainly one that would be on our list if there was a good opportunity that came up," he said.

Roney, who joined the company as a non-executive director in 2003, has been chief executive for nine years and has more than doubled the size of Bunzl's global footprint.

A move into India would add to the 27 countries in which Bunzl operates, but Roney maintains that he does not like to set targets for where or when to move into new markets.

"For us, the idea of first-mover advantage isn't necessarily the most important thing because there isn't anybody else doing what we are doing globally. So we prefer to wait until we get a good opportunity to go there," he said.

Bunzl spent 295 million pounds on 11 acquisitions last year, the highest amount spent in a single year since 2004, in countries including Brazil, Australia and Canada.

CASH-RICH

Analysts have estimated that Bunzl, which generates 83 percent of group revenue outside the UK and Ireland, could afford to spend about 300 million pounds a year on acquisitions for the next four years.

"We are very, very strong cash generator, Roney said. "That has been the hallmark of Bunzl. All the growth has been self-funded."

The company has focused largely on Latin America, with four of last year's acquisitions taking place in Mexico and Brazil.

Roney said he would also consider a sizeable deal in China, Singapore or Taiwan to "anchor" operations in Asia.

"China and Asia is an area of interest for us," he said. "We have a sourcing office there and we have somebody on the ground looking for opportunities. We'll see how that develops.

"We're looking for a good anchor acquisition in Asia. Timing is less important than the fact we want to get the right one."

($1 = 0.5954 British Pounds)

(Editing by David Goodman)

By Li-mei Hoang

Stocks treated in this article : Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bunzl plc