A Hindenburg moment for Vedanta

It is time regulations on short-selling are circulated and tightened to calm investors and markets and allow corporates to continue with their legal practices

- DHANENDRA KUMAR

AS MEMORIES OF the Hindenburg attack on Adani fades away, another American short-seller, Viceroy Research, has attacked Vedanta Resource and its Indian group firms, Vedanta Ltd. and Hindustan Zinc. The short-seller has made allegations and claims, including those relating to Vedanta's financial structure.

The Viceroy report raises eyebrows as it came a day before the annual general meeting of Vedanta Ltd. In a prompt rebuttal, the company dismissed it as "a malicious combination of selective misinformation and baseless allegations to discredit the group". Terming the report as "false propaganda", it said, "The timing of the report is suspect and could be to undermine the forthcoming corporate initiatives."

Vedanta has proposed a demerger that will result in four independent and pure-play entities across aluminium, iron and steel, power, and oil and gas. Vedanta Ltd will have the base metals as well as certain other existing and new businesses.

Incidentally, Vedanta Group is a global leader in critical minerals, transition metals, energy, and technology, with operations spanning India, South Africa, Namibia, Liberia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. It is also the world's largest integrated producer of zinc, the fourth-largest global producer of silver, and one of the top producers of aluminium.