No talks on buyback of shares from govt: Hindustan Zinc CEO

There have been no talks on buyback of the government's shares in the integrated zinc producer Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), its CEO Sunil Duggal said on Thursday.

"There has been no discussion on this topic (share buyback)," he told reporters in New Delhi, adding that the company does not respond to market speculation.

Duggal was responding to reports that the company led by billionaire Anil Agarwal is looking to buy back shares from the government. In 2002, the government sold 26% stake in HZL for Rs 445 crore to billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta.

The firm also acquired 20% stake from the public.

In 2003, it again acquired an additional 18.92% in exercise of call option clause in shareholders agreement between the government and the firm. Now, the government owns 29.54% in HZL.

In August, Mines Minister Piyush Goyal said the government has no "strategic interest" in holding minority stake in HZL. "My approach is that we have no role in it and I don't see any role for us to keep that minor stake," Goyal told PTI.

Agarwal, the chairman of mining giant Vedanta Resources, has time and again evinced interest in acquiring the government's remaining stake in HZL and aluminium maker Balco.

In March this year, Agarwal had said stake sale of the government's remaining share in HZL and aluminium maker Balco can fetch it Rs 25,000 crore.