INDIA-FOCUSED mining group Vedanta plans to list its Zambian copper business on the London stock exchange to unlock value, raising $1.1bn (£687m) to expand output at the unit, it said today.
The global offering will consist of existing and new shares in Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), the second-biggest integrated copper producer in Africa, a statement said.
“The IPO will provide investors with an opportunity to participate in the growth of this integrated and pure play copper company with the liquidity of a London listing,” Kishore Kumar, chief executive of KCM’s holding company Konkola Resources, said.
Vedanta has an indirect stake of 79.4 per cent in KCM, with the remaining interest owned by ZCCM Investments Holdings, majority owned by the Zambian government. KCM will also have a listing in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
“The company (KCM) intends to use the expected net proceeds of the global offer of at least $1.1 billion towards the funding of its capital expenditure programme,” Vedanta said.
KCM is aiming to more than double output to 400,000 tonnes a year by 2014, from 173,000 tonnes in Vedanta’s financial year to the end of March 2010, and to cut integrated cash costs to below $1 per pound from $1.80.
KCM has 20,777 employees and third-party contractors, making it the largest private employer in Zambia.
