Parent of India’s Vedanta proposes to cut debt by US$3 billion over next three years

Vedanta Resources, Indian miner Vedanta’s UK-based parent company, will seek to cut its debt by US$3 billion over the next three years, its chairman said in an annual report on Tuesday (Jun 18).

Vedanta Resources, whose debt stood at US$6 billion as of March 2024, has been grappling with a host of rating downgrades since last year as analysts flagged liquidity issues and high default risk.

“We seek to further deleverage Vedanta Resources by US$3 billion over the next three years,” chairman Anil Agarwal said in the oil-to-metals conglomerate’s latest annual report.

In the last two years, Vedanta Resources has cut its debt by US$3.70 billion.

Agarwal said the maturity of its outstanding bonds worth US$3.20 billion, extended up to fiscal 2029, has provided it with “newfound liquidity”. The group will use this liquidity to fund “important capex projects,” he added.

Vedanta, which is in the middle of a planned demerger, aims to operationalise coal blocks and expand capacities for its steel and aluminium business and has proposed to set aside US$1.90 billion as capital expenditure for fiscal 2025. REUTERS