Mumbai

• Adani’s business has lost more than $100 billion.
• The sale of Adani Enterprises shares was meant to earn roughly $2.5 billion.
• Adani Enterprises’ stock dropped another 28.45 percent today.

MUMBAI: Under-fire Indian tycoon Gautam Adani asserted Thursday that his conglomerate’s fundamentals were “solid,” even as shares in the group’s companies fell again after the group canceled a multibillion-dollar public sale.

Adani’s business has lost more than $100 billion as a result of stunning charges of accounting fraud made by US short-seller Hindenburg Research last week, which the firm has denied.

The sale of Adani Enterprises shares was meant to earn roughly $2.5 billion to assist in lower debt levels, which have long been a source of worry, and to widen the company’s shareholder base.

Small investors remained away when the market price fell below the offered range, and it was only fully subscribed after assistance from Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company, as well as fellow Indian tycoons Sajjan Jindal and Sunil Mittal, according to Bloomberg citing unidentified sources.

Nonetheless, Adani Enterprises’ stock dropped another 28.45 percent in Mumbai on Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg, the trigger was news that Swiss banking behemoth Credit Suisse has stopped recognizing Adani bonds as collateral for loans advanced to private banking clients.

Adani Enterprises lost another 10%, prompting trade in its shares and those of many other Adani companies to be halted.

In a late-night announcement, Adani Enterprises stated it had chosen not to proceed with the share sale “in the interest of its subscribers,” and that all deposits would be reimbursed.

Going forward with the matter “would not be morally proper,” according to the firm.

Adani himself delivered a video message on Thursday in which he stated that the “fundamentals of our company are very strong, our balance sheet is good and assets robust”.

Serious investigation

Adani’s personal wealth has fallen out of the top ten real-time Forbes wealthy list, and he has been surpassed as Asia’s richest man by fellow Indian Mukesh Ambani.

Adani, 60, has seen his business grow at rapid speed, with shares in Adani Enterprises rising more than 1,000% in the last five years.

This helped him become the world’s third-richest man last week, trailing only Elon Musk and France’s Bernard Arnault and family.

According to Hindenburg Research, Adani artificially raised its unit share values by funneling money into the equities through offshore tax havens.

This “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme” is “the largest con in corporate history”, Hindenburg said in its report.

Adani said it was the target of a “maliciously mischievous” reputational campaign and issued a 413-page statement on Sunday that said Hindenburg’s assertions were “nothing but a lie”.

In response, Hindenburg, which earns money by betting on stocks plummeting, stated that Adani’s statement failed to answer the majority of the problems presented in its study.

Critics claim that Adani’s close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi have aided him in gaining business and avoiding necessary regulatory supervision.

Modi, who, like Adani, is from Gujarat state, has not reacted publicly since the Hindenburg claims, which observers believe have harmed India’s image at a time when the country is attempting to entice foreign investors away from China.

The firm’s diverse holdings include ports (it just acquired one of Israel’s largest), telecoms, airports, media, coal, oil, and solar power.

Following the Hindenburg charges, India’s opposition Congress party asked for a “serious inquiry” of Adani’s enterprises by the federal bank and regulator this week.

“For all its rhetoric about black money, has the Modi government opted to ignore illegal acts by its favorite corporate group?” Congress declared.

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