Hindustan Zinc pays record dividend

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta group company, on Monday paid the government Rs 2,995 crore as dividend on account of its 29.54 per cent residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd. At a ceremony held in New Delhi, Sunil Duggal, chief executive officer of Hindustan Zinc, presented the dividend cheque to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

Besides dividend, the government also obtained a dividend distribution tax (DDT) of Rs 2,064.4 crore. On March 30, the company's board had declared a special 'Golden Jubilee' dividend of 1,200 per cent that is Rs 24 on an equity share of Rs 2 each. This dividend will entail an outflow of approximately Rs 12,205 crore, including DDT.