City Lusaka Financial News

Vedanta Resources Ltd. can take back control of the Konkola copper project in Zambia after a court sanctioned a plan to settle debts owed to the mine’s creditors. A court in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, on Friday approved a scheme of arrangement that was supported by Konkola Copper Mines Plc’s creditors, the southern African country’s mines minister, Paul Kabuswe, said on Facebook. Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta has been trying to regain the major copper asset since 2019, when KCM was put into provisional liquidation after the previous government accused its owner of lying about expansion plans and paying too little tax. To get access to the mine again, Vedanta now needs to follow the court ruling by releasing $250 million to settle debts that KCM owes to contractors and suppliers. Vedanta told Bloomberg this week that it stands ready to start making the payments. Agarwal’s firm has also committed to investing $1 billion over five years to complete expansion projects.

VA Tech WABAG has bagged a European Investment Bank and Germany-based Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank funded design, build order for establishing two waste water treatment plants valued at Euro 78 million (about Rs 700 crore) in Zambia. The order has been secured from the Lusaka Water Supply and Sanitation Company, Zambia which also marks the entry of VA Tech WABAG into African country.

Zambia’s worst electricity blackouts in memory have been caused by a severe drought in the region that has left the critical Kariba dam with insufficient water to run its hydroelectric turbines

Zimbabwean cricketer Henry Olonga has captivated audiences with a mesmerizing singing performance on Channel 9. While many know him for his achievements on the cricket field, Olonga's foray into the world of music has unveiled a new facet of his versatile talents.

Vedanta group on Wednesday said in Saudi Arabia it has set up a new copper unit through subsidiary Malco Energy Limited for SAR (saudi riyal) 1,00,000. The new unit has been named as Vedanta Copper International VCI Company Limited, the company said in an exchange filing. In September, Vedanta’s board had approved a plan to split the business into six separate listed entities.

Zambia has agreed to return control of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to Vedanta Resources, mines minister Paul Kabuswe said on Tuesday, ending a row over the ownership of the assets that erupted in 2019 when authorities seized the mines. The government, which owns a 20% stake in KCM through ZCCM-IH, will allow Vedanta to resume control and operate KCM's mines and smelter after the company renewed a pledge to invest more than $1.2 billion to increase output and repay outstanding debts, Kabuswe said. A shareholders' agreement is being reworked to make the commitments from both shareholders legally binding, Kabuswe added. The legal details of the agreement and reinstatement of the KCM board, would be finalised within the next three months, the minister said. Ties between Zambia and Vedanta, owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal, soured after former President Edgar Lungu's government orchestrated the seizure of the KCM assets and forced liquidation in May 2019, accusing the Indian company of failing to meet plans to invest in increasing mining output. The forced takeover nearly paralysed operations at the KCM and triggered protracted battles, with Vedanta mounting legal battles including approaching an arbitration court in London to recover the copper assets. «It is not a secret that the asset has deteriorated a great deal and the production output has substantially reduced,» Kabuswe told journalists in Lusaka.