Vedanta gives nod to talks with Zambia, but vows to defend rights

A court hearing involving Vedanta and Zambia over the control of KCM was postponed on Friday until June 4.

The government is pressing for the liquidation of KCM, which it has accused of breaching its operating licence, in a case that has stoked broader concerns among international miners about a rise in resource nationalism.

“While Vedanta intends to fully defend its legal rights, we remain open to dialogue,” CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said on Monday.

“We hope to meet the Zambian government in the near future to discuss a mutually agreeable solution to the current situation as well as the broader challenges faced by KCM.”

Vedanta Resources, partial owner of the Mumbai-listed Vedanta group of companies, is the majority shareholder of KCM.

It says Zambia is misusing corporate law by calling for the winding up of KCM on the basis of fairness and equity rather than on grounds of insolvency.

The provisional liquidator, who says business is continuing as usual at KCM, is in charge of the daily running of KCM.