Hindustan Copper to issue fresh equity to raise funds

New Delhi : State-run firm Hindustan Copper (HCL) will off-load 13,87,82,700 equity shares or up to 15 per cent of its paid up equity capital in the country's stock markets to raise funds for its expansion projects.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday.

Accordingly, the paid-up share capital of the state-run company will increase from the present Rs 462.61 crore to Rs 532 crore, an official statement said.

The CCEA approved the issue of shares by HCL through the Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) route as per market regulator SEBI and other guidelines.

This will bring down the government's shareholding in HCL from 76.05 per cent to 66.13 per cent.

"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 per cent of the refined copper demand of the country," the statement said.

The proposed expansion plan would create employment opportunities for about 9,300 persons, it added. Expansion projects of HCL are located in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.

Shares of HCL closed at Rs 64.90, up Rs 4.80 or 7.99 per cent from the previous close on the BSE.