Vedanta Ltd. has decided to halt plans to sell Sterlite Copper, its copper smelter in Tamil Nadu, India, as per sources. While the initial planned size of the sale was not known, Sterlite has operated a 400,000 MTPA smelter and was responsible for 36% of India’s refined copper production with a $300mn contribution to the exchequer prior to its shutting down. The plant has been shutdown since 2018 due to environmental concerns which saw protests and police firing. As per sources, Vedanta said that it is focused on restarting operations there as the plant is expected to play a key role in the nation’s shift towards electric vehicles and renewables. Besides, Adani Group is also expected to take large steps to become one of India’s largest copper producers, further calling for the reopening of Sterlite Copper’s operations. Vedanta had put the plant up for sale last year with the unit having incurred a loss of INR 50mn ($600k) a day.
Vedanta’s dollar bonds were trading slightly lower with its 7.125% 2023s down 0.3 points to 95.25, yielding 22.42%
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