Govt wasting time on Balco stake sale: Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources through its subsidiary Sterlite Industries holds 51% stake in Balco and 64.92% stake in Hindustan Zinc

Mining conglomerate Vedanta founder and executive chairman Anil Agarwal on Thursday came out strongly against the Indian government for unnecessary wasting time on divestment of its stake in Hindustan Zinc and Bharat Aluminium company (Balco).

The group has also suffered a setback in its Odisha aluminium refinery project, he said the company was awaiting allocation of an alternative bauxite mine.

Vedanta Resources through its subsidiary Sterlite Industries holds 51 per cent stake in Balco and 64.92 per cent stake in Hindustan Zinc. The UK-based company has been in talks with the Indian government for about two years now to acquire the remaining stakes in the two firms. “There is no clarity on the divestment route — government has to make up its mind,” Agarwal said on the sidelines of a lecture at Shri Ram College of Commerce.

It has also increased the offer for buying out the stakes by $40 million. The new offer for Hindustan Zinc stake stands at $3.48 billion and in Balco at $487 million.