Investors finally got a chance to trade Vedanta's newly demerged businesses on Monday. The biggest question now is where the long-term opportunity lies. Among the four newly listed companies that emerged from Vedanta's restructuring, Vedanta Aluminium Metal has clearly emerged as the heavyweight. The company debuted with a market valuation of about Rs 2.06 lakh crore, making it by far the largest entity in the demerged group. Vedanta Power, in comparison, was valued at Rs 16,149 crore.Analysts tracking the group believe both companies offer distinct investment cases, but the overwhelming preference at this stage appears to be for aluminium.The demerger marks one of the largest corporate restructurings undertaken in India's metals and mining sector. Existing Vedanta shareholders received one share each of Vedanta Aluminium Metal, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Oil and Gas and Vedanta Iron and Steel for every Vedanta share held on the record date.Why Vedanta Aluminium stands out?According to Kaustubh Rane, Senior Vice President at Ashika Capital, the restructuring should help unlock value by giving investors direct exposure to individual businesses."The restructuring improves transparency, enables more efficient capital allocation and allows investors to take targeted exposure to their preferred businesses," Rane said.Among the four demerged companies, he believes Vedanta Aluminium stands out."Vedanta Aluminium stands out as the most compelling investment opportunity owing to its scale, integrated operations, strong cash generation and exposure to long-term structural demand drivers," he said.The numbers support that argument. Vedanta Aluminium listed at Rs 527 per share and is already one of India's largest metals companies by market value. The company plans to double aluminium production capacity to 60 lakh tonnes per annum over time and has outlined investments of Rs 13,226 crore to increase aluminium capacity further by FY28.The company also enjoys a significant cost advantage. Rating agency ICRA recently upgraded its long-term rating and noted that Vedanta Aluminium's smelters are positioned in the first quartile of the global cost curve. This allows the company to remain profitable even during commodity downturns.Another key advantage is backward integration. The company increased alumina capacity to 5 million tonnes per annum in FY26 from 2 million tonnes earlier. This reduces dependence on external suppliers and improves profitability by lowering raw material costs.Vinit Bolinjkar, Head of Research at Ventura, believes these factors make Vedanta Aluminium the stronger investment candidate."For investors evaluating the two today, Vedanta Aluminium Metal emerges as the stronger proposition on fundamentals, scale and growth visibility," Bolinjkar said.He noted that despite carrying the highest debt among the demerged entities, the aluminium business is also expected to generate the largest EBITDA. As a result, its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio is estimated at around 1.3 times, which remains comfortable for a business of its scale.The demand outlook also appears favourable. Aluminium is increasingly being used in electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, transmission networks and urban construction. Rising domestic infrastructure spending and manufacturing investments are expected to support long-term demand growth.Brokerages are also constructive on the broader sector. ICICI Securities recently described aluminium as the group's new "crown jewel", citing a global aluminium supply deficit and improving coal integration as key earnings drivers.Khandwala Securities, one of the most bullish brokerages on the demerger, called Vedanta Aluminium India's lowest-cost integrated aluminium producer with unmatched scale and strong earnings visibility.The case for Vedanta PowerThe company owns more than 4 GW of installed generation capacity across Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It operates through assets including the Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant, Meenakshi Energy, Sakti Power and the Jharsuguda Thermal Plant.Management has outlined plans to become one of India's top three private thermal power producers by FY33 through capacity expansion and asset turnarounds.The business benefits from several long-term and medium-term power purchase agreements with state utilities, providing a degree of revenue visibility.However, analysts see fewer growth triggers compared with aluminium. "Vedanta Power may suit tactical or income-oriented investors, but as a growth bet, aluminium wins decisively," Bolinjkar said.A significant portion of Vedanta Power's earnings remains linked to merchant power tariffs, which can be volatile and are influenced by regulatory decisions, coal availability and power demand cycles.While Emkay Global sees scope for re-rating in the power business, most analysts believe the earnings visibility and expansion roadmap are stronger in aluminium.That does not mean Vedanta Power lacks potential. The company plans to expand capacity to 12 GW over the coming years and has also outlined ambitions in hydropower and nuclear energy. If those plans materialise successfully, the business could see a substantial re-rating.For now, however, investors appear to be gravitating towards the larger and more established aluminium franchise.The demerger has already removed the conglomerate discount that weighed on Vedanta's valuation for years. With each business now trading independently, analysts expect sector-focused investors to drive sharper price discovery.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)