Vedanta's Anil Agarwal

Vedanta's Anil Agarwal - Chairman of Vedanta Resources

Truly A Rags To Riches Tale To Tell

Scrap Trader To An Entrepreneur

Vedanta was collecting scrap from cable companies from other states and selling to those in Mumbai. Anil Agarwal acquired Shamsher Sterling Corporation which manufactured enameled copper, among other products, with a loan of Rs. 50,000 from Syndicate Bank.

In 1986, he ventured into the manufacturing of jelly-filled cables by putting up a factory at a cost of Rs. 7 Cr. He then started Sterlite Industries which became the first company in the country to set up a copper smelter and refinery in the private sector and also controlled the largest capacity cast copper rod plants, in just a matter of few years.

Inspired by philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie, David Rockefeller, and Bill Gates, Anil Agarwal created the Vedanta Foundation in the year 1992. In the financial year 2013-14, the Vedanta group and Vedanta foundation collectively invested $49 Million in the conservation of the environment, building infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and funding community programs that helped in improving the health, education, and livelihood of more than 4.1 million people.

In 1995, Madras Aluminium, a company that had been shut down for nearly 4 years and was on the verge of dying, was acquired by Sterlite Industries from the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). Sterlite Industries acquired 80% interest in MALCO (1995) and Copper Mines (1999) of Tasmania Pvt. Ltd.

Anil Agarwal moved to London where the world’s largest mining and metals companies were headquartered. Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Group successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and raised $876 million through an Initial Public Offering. Vedanta not only became the first Indian firm to be listed on the London Stock Exchange but also became the first Indian business group to become a global player in mining and metals in less than a decade.

In 2004 Vedanta Resources announced a global bond offering and acquired “Konkola Copper Mines” in Zambia. Vedanta Resources also acquired a controlling stake in “Cairn India” which is India’s largest private-sector oil-producing firm. In 2010, the company acquired South African miner Anglo American’s portfolio of zinc assets in Namibia, Ireland, and South Africa.

Today Vedanta is known to be the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India, the largest producer of zinc, and the second-largest producer of copper in the world and also has mining operations in Australia & Zambia, and oil & gas operations in three other countries as well.