Anglo told not to sell SA assets

The chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc, Anglo American’s biggest shareholder, said he had convinced Anglo not to sell off key assets in SA.

Anil Agarwal has an almost 20% stake in Anglo through his family trust Volcan Investments and has played down speculation that he is seeking a tie-up with Anglo.

But Agarwal made it clear that he hasn’t been a passive shareholder.

“I always believed that South Africa has a lot of potential. Anglo management may not have always believed that ... and they wanted to sell some assets.

“When I became the biggest shareholder I advised them [not to sell]. And I am very pleased that they have not sold those assets. And I was right because the share price is now up 50% and the profits are getting better.”

In the midst of the commodity slump, Anglo said it would sell 16 assets including its SA business Kumba Iron Ore to focus on copper, diamonds and platinum.

But last year the company said it would no longer be a forced seller of its bulk businesses after metal prices rebounded.

Agarwal’s Volcan Investments said it was raising its stake and is now about a third higher, according to Thomson Reuters’ data.

Agarwal said he wanted Anglo to focus on the Indian market.

“We have 1.3 billion people in India ... India is a huge market for them, they can sell all the coal there, they can sell platinum there, they can sell iron ore there, they are selling 80 to 90% of diamonds there.”

Agarwal said he saw his role as a “facilitator” of Anglo’s strategy and felt he had good “chemistry” with the management. “I am not in the management, they have very good management,” he said. – Reuters

I always believed that South Africa has a lot of potential