Vedanta sets up new copper unit in Saudi Arabia

livemint.com:

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.

On 25 August, Vedanta chairman Anil Agrawal had said that the group is considering separately listing all or some businesses, based on feedback from advisors. He had also said that separately listing the different businesses will help the “pure play" businesses grow. Last year, the company had said that it plans to invest in the mineral sector in Saudi Arabia.

On 6 November, Vedanta Resources and the Zambian government signed an agreement that restores the Indian company's ownership of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). The agreement was signed between ZCCM-IH and Vedanta in Lusaka. The copper assets were seized by the Zambian government in 2019.

The agreement will lead to the re-appointment of the KCM board and withdrawal of all legal challenges that are in court. Billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta had mounted several legal challenges, including suing Zambia at the arbitration court in London, to regain control of KCM after former president Edgar Lungu's government orchestrated the seizure of the copper assets by forcing the operations into liquidation in May 2019. The Zambian administration had accused the company of failing to invest to boost copper output.

Shares of Vedanta Ltd closed at ₹238.70, down 1.34% on Wednesday. Vedanta group is in discussions with Taiwan-based TFT LCD maker Innolux Corporation for a display fabrication plant in India. The