Core group of promoters bear the brunt of governance deficit

While Anil Ambani,with interests in infrastructure and financial sectors witnessed the highest percentage drop in personal wealth of 13.9 per cent due to a sharp decline in the share prices,Gautam Adani’s notional loss was the highest in absolute terms. The market downturn saw his wealth being depleted by Rs 14,176 crore or 13.5 per cent. Anil Agarwal,promoter of metal giant,the Vedanta Group,saw his wealth being shaved off by 12.5 per cent. Infrastructure-related sectors have not been doing well for a number of reasons such as land acquisition,project delays,cost escalation,high leverage and non-availability of raw materials such as coal and iron ore. Most of the groups losing value are in these sectors, said the chief investment officer of a leading mutual fund.

The sharp fall in wealth of the private sector players has also not only changed the pecking order of the top five companies by market capitalisation,but also narrowed the gap between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and the second largest company in India. Though RIL continues to remain at the top with a total market cap of Rs 2,55,576 crore,the second-ranked Coal India Limited is only Rs 7,786 crore short of RIL’s total capitalisation at Rs 247,790 crore.