HCL gets cabinet nod to will issue 13.87 crore fresh equity shares

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has approved a fresh equity issue of 15 percent by state-run Hindustan Copper.

“CCEA has given its approval for issue of fresh 13,87,82,700 equity shares to the extent of 15 percent of paid up equity capital efface value of Rs 5 each by Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) through the Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) route as per SEBI and other applicable guidelines,” an official release said.

Consequently, government shareholding in HCL will come down from 76.05 percent to 66.13 percent. Further, the paid-up share capital of HCL will increase from the present Rs 462.61 crore to Rs 532 crore. HCL will use the proceeds of QIP to meet its expansion/capex plan.

At the current market price, issuance of 15 percent fresh equity would garner Rs 900.6 crore to the company.

“The raising of fund is essential for HCL's expansion plans to achieve production level of around 1.90 lakh tonnes of metal in copper concentrate and thus meet around 30 percent of the refined copper demand of the country. The proposed expansion plan would create employment opportunities for 9300 persons approximately,” the release further said.

Hindustan Copper, a vertically integrated copper producer, is primarily engaged in business of mining and processing of copper ore to produce refined copper metal.