NEW DELHI: Vedanta group on Thursday said its semiconductor business will not be part of Vedanta Ltd, but will be housed under Volcan Investments Limited, the holding company owned by Anil Agarwal’s family trust.
The company is also the majority shareholder of London-based Vedanta Resources Plc, which has more than 50 per cent stake in Vedanta India.
“We reiterate that the proposed business of manufacturing semiconductors is not under Vedanta Limited and we understand that it will be undertaken by the ultimate holding company of Vedanta Limited, Volcan Investments Limited,” said the company in an exchange filing.
Earlier, Vedanta Group announced that it, along with Taiwanese chip maker Foxconn, would invest Rs 1.54 lakh crore to set up a semiconductor and glass plant in Gujarat. Vedanta said the project will come over the next two years and would bring employment of around 1 Lakh to the state. Ever since Vedanta announced the semiconductor project in Gujarat, there had been confusion, about which company would take care of its semiconductor business.
As per Vedanta’s press statement on September 13, Vedanta will hold a 60 per cent stake in the joint venture while Foxconn will own the balance of 40 per cent. But today the company clarified that its holding company Volcan Investments Limited will take care of its semiconductor business. Volcan Investment is incorporated in the Bahamas. The company is wholly owned by Conclave PTC Limited, a private trust company, which is ultimately beneficially owned by Anil Agarwal Discretionary Trust.
Meanwhile, the company said it is also going to invest Rs 25,000 crore for the expansion of its aluminium, ferrochrome and mining businesses in Odisha.
“So far, we have made the single-largest investment in Odisha (Rs 80,000 crore), and contribute to 4 per cent of state’s GDP....today, I am proud to announce that we have committed to new investments of more than Rs 25,000 crore, furthering the development and job creation in the state,” said Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta Group.