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Journalism of Courage
Companies of Adani Group saw their share prices extend declines on Friday amid continued selling pressure as well as concern about any systemic impact from disarray triggered by a US short-seller report critical of the group’s finances.
Investors have lopped off more than $100 billion from the market capitalisation of seven of the group’s listed stocks since Hindenburg Research last week questioned its debt levels and use of tax havens. Declines intensified after Gautam Adani shelved the Rs 20,000 crore share sale.
In an extra blow, S&P Dow Jones Indices on Thursday said it would remove flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd from widely used sustainability indices on Feb. 7, making the shares less appealing to environment-conscious investors.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have called for a wider probe into the matter, and the RBI has asked lenders for details of their exposure to the group, sources previously told Reuters.
In Friday trade, the share price of Adani Enterprises Ltd – the group’s flagship company – nosedived 35% to its lowest level since March 2021. That took losses to nearly $33.6 billion since last week representing a 70% decline.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd was down 14%, while Adani Transmission Ltd and Adani Green Energy Ltd slumped 10% each. Adani Total Gas Ltd – a joint venture with France’s TotalEnergies SE – fell 5%.
The meltdown in share prices marks a dramatic turn of fortune for Adani, who in recent years forged partnerships with, and attracted investment from, foreign giants as he pursues global expansion in sectors as varied as ports and power.
Adani is also no longer Asia’s richest person, having slid to 17th in Forbes’ rankings of the world’s wealthiest people.
