Vedanta Resources appoints Arun Kumar as CFO

(Reuters) - Diversified mining and energy group Vedanta Resources Plc appointed Arun Kumar, deputy chief financial officer, as its CFO. The move comes as Vedanta Ltd , the Indian unit of Vedanta Resources, looks to complete its takeover of oil and gas explorer Cairn India Ltd in early 2017. The merger will boost Vedanta Resources' finances by giving it access to Cairn India's $3.5 billion cash pile, but has faced opposition from some big minority shareholders. Kumar will take over from D D Jalan, who retired on Friday, Vedanta Resources said. Jalan joined the company in 2001. Shares of Vedanta Resources were down 1.2 percent at 584.5 pence at 1442 GMT on the London Stock Exchange, slightly outperforming a 1.7 percent fall in the FTSE 350 mining index. (Reporting by Mamidipudi Soumithri in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian and Maju Samuel)