Adani shares rebound after $27 billion rout on US bribe charges
Company’s latest woes have raised fresh doubts about corporate governance
Most Adani Group stock rebounded on Friday, led by the conglomerate’s cement firms, after US prosecutors’ charges of bribery against founder Gautam Adani erased $27 billion from the conglomerate’s market value in previous session.
Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. rose by 2 per cent each, while Adani Green Energy Ltd. extended Thursday’s 19 per cent tumble. Six of the group’s 10 firms controlled by the ports-to-power conglomerate advanced.
Adani Group’s shares plunged on Thursday after federal prosecutors accused its billionaire founder and other executives of allegedly plotting to bribe Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts. The conglomerate has denied the allegations, calling them baseless, and announced plans to seek legal recourse.
With strongholds in India’s ports, airports and power generation businesses, the Adani Group has become a proxy for the Modi government’s ambitions to develop world-class infrastructure. The billionaire denies getting political favors but says his conglomerate always aligns its business strategies to the policy priorities of the government, regardless of who is in power.
“Fundamentals are sound and yesterday’s fall was overdone,” said Deven Choksey, managing director at DRChoksey FinServ Pvt. “Those declines have created a buying opportunity.”
Still, the conglomerate’s latest woes have raised fresh doubts about corporate governance in the country. These concerns compound existing worries about slowing earnings momentum, which have pushed the NSE Nifty 50 Index into correction zone and sparked a foreign fund exodus from the $4.4 trillion stock market. The Nifty surged 2.4% on Friday in its biggest jump since early June.
“As an investor in Adani shares, I would like to sit on the fence and see which way this case goes,” said Alok Churiwala, managing director of Mumbai-based Churiwala Securities Pvt. Unlike retail investors who may hold out for a recovery, institutions face a challenge, as maintaining their stance could risk their investors’ capital, he said.
The group survived a bruising selloff last year following short-seller Hindenburg Research’s report accusing Adani of corporate fraud. While India’s market regulator continues to investigate, the group’s fundraising efforts have won backing from some top money managers.
“The group’s progress is getting harassed a bit every now and then,” Choksey said. “These allegations by the US authorities will get sorted, and maybe that will happen through talks and negotiations.”