Hindustan Copper raises Rs 500 crore via QIP issue

State-owned Hindustan Copper (HCL) on Thursday said it has raised Rs 500 crore through issuance of shares to institutional investors.

"The qualified institutions placement (QIP) of Rs 500 crore has been fully subscribed," the PSU said in a statement. The funds from the QIP are proposed to be used to fund the ongoing capex/expansion plan of the company.

The QIP of HCL closed on April 12 with wide participation from diverse investors including mutual funds, insurance companies, banks and foreign institutional investors. Launched on April 7, this is the first-time issuance of a central public sector enterprise to raise funds by issue of shares via QIP. HCL, a CPSE under the Ministry of Mines, is the only operating copper ore producing mining company in India and also the only vertically integrated producer of primary refined copper in the country.

HCL plans to expand its current ore production levels from 3.97 million tonne per annum to 12.2 MTPA in phase-I (under implementation) through expansion of existing mines, reopening of closed mines and opening of new mines.