Analysts assert that Vedanta Group's plan to demerge India-listed Vedanta Limited into six listed entities will not resolve the debt problem of its promoter entity, Vedanta Resources (VRL). They suggest that additional asset sales or stake sales by promoters will be necessary to repay the debt. Vedanta is already considering the divestment of its iron-steel division and its copper plant.
When the world was upended by the Covid-19 pandemic, metals got its shine back. In the last two years, infrastructure spending by major economies spurred demand, energy transition and intermittent supply disruptions fuelled a scorching rally in metals after a downturn during the first Covid wave. Now, Russia's war on Ukraine is ensuring that elevated prices stay the course.
With the privatisation of BPCL appearing inevitable, there are worries that the new promoter would soon move to lower wages.
In its order on an RTI query filed by advocate Arjun Harkauli on the issue, the Central Information Commission observed, "In response to therequest for information relating to disinvestment of government's 51 per cent stake BALCO, the Chief Public Information Officers of the respondents have stated that they have made attempts to search and trace the desired documents but to no avail."
At least 31 people were crushed to death when an under-construction chimney at a new power plant being constructed at Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) in Korba, 230 km from Raipur, collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. Another 40 people are feared trapped in the debris.
V N Khare and S P Bharucha, both once Chief Justices of India, have been appointed to the arbitration panel to resolve the issue of sale of the government's residual 49 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company to Sterlite Industries.
The three-judge arbitration panel set up to resolve the controversy over the sale of the government's residual 49 per cent stake in Sterlite-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd has decided to meet in August, raising hopes of a resolution to the five-year-old dispute.
"That plant has a high cost of production and it is not feasible to operate it when aluminium prices have dropped significantly," said a company executive. It has started reducing output and full closure is expected soon. Aluminium prices fell to $1,251 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange from last July's all-time high of $3,271, as the global credit crunch and economic slowdown curbed demand for the base metal. On Wednesday, the metal's LME price was $1,421 a tonne.
This comes after both parties failed to arrive at an agreement on an appropriate valuation of the stake, a company executive said. Sterlite bought 51 per cent stake in Balco in March 2001 for Rs 552 crore (Rs 5.52 billion) when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government decided to divest the government stake in the public sector company.
The issue was raised in 2005 by none other than the then revenue minister of the state, Nankiram Kanwar. The minister alleged that the company had grabbed prime land and cut down a large number of trees without permission. The government conducted an inquiry that established that Balco had encroached 1036.52 acres of government land. The company, however, contended and claimed that the land under question was allotted by the government.
Reader Abhishek Narang sent us this image from the Wake Forest University Babcock Graduate School of Management, North Carolina.
Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd on Monday signed a MoU with the Chhattisgarh government to set up a Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion), 1,200 MW coal-based power project in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won a landslide election victory in May largely on a promise of economic growth, is expected to speed up divestments to bolster revenue generation.
A Delhi court has summoned former chairman and managing director of Bharat Aluminium Company, Shyamal Kumar Ghosh and four others in connection with a case wherein they allegedly caused losses to the tune of Rs 299.20 lakh
Anil Agarwal, chairman and managing director, Sterlite Industries speaks on his future plans.
The states will get over Rs l lakh crore.
The government is bullish on Coal India and ONGC's stake sale programme which are to be held soon.
The brand image, however, may not tarish further as it will have already taken the beating due to consistent injury
Though the NDA government had been trying to privatise 20 companies, a decision for which was taken in 2017, and included national carrier Air India, the investor community evinced little enthusiasm for any of them. Now, with an in-principle approval for privatisation of BPCL, CCI and SCI, the government has taken the plunge again.
Vedanta Resources has huge interests in India. The promoter and majority shareholder of Vedanta Resources, Anil Agarwal, also founded Sterlite Industries.
While Vedanta Aluminium, Balco and Cairn India confirmed the job cuts, sources said Sesa Goa too had slashed jobs.
JSPL and Balco had emerged as the highest bidders in the recently concluded auctions.
Employees of around 150 firms may lose out on PF benefits as their companies failed to get an exemption certificate from the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
Govt to issue ownership rights of 15 coal mines on Mar 23.
Modelled loosely around the National Highway System of the US, he in 2001 launched the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South & East-West Corridor projects to build 4/6 lane highways between four top metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as well as from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Porbandar to Silchar.
Tata Power, Sesa Sterlite and Hindustan Zinc likely to be hit.
The company shut down its 1-mtpa (million tonnes per annum) alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district in the state on December 5 due to acute shortage of bauxite to feed its plant.
The court issued notice to the ministry and directed it to file its response in two days.
Bids for eight coal blocks were sent for re-examination.
There are 30 listed PSUs in which the public holding is less than 25%.