Speaking at the AGM of his group companies, he said that on the eve of Republic Day this year, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report to short group stocks just as it was planning to launch the largest Follow-on Public Offering in India’s history.
“The report was a combination of targeted misinformation and discredited allegations, the majority of them dating from 2004 to 2015.
“They were all settled by the appropriate authorities at that time.
“This report was a deliberate and malicious attempt aimed at damaging our reputation and generating profits through a short-term drive-down of our stock prices,” he said.
Subsequently, despite a fully subscribed FPO, the group decided to withdraw and return the money to investors to protect their interests.
While we promptly issued a comprehensive rebuttal, various vested interests tried to exploit the claims made by the short seller.
“These entities encouraged and promoted a false narrative across various news and social media platform. Subsequently, the SC constituted a committee to look into the matter…The report was made public in May 2023, & the expert committee did not find any regulator failure…It cited that there were credible charges of targetted destabilisation of the Indian market…,” he said.
Adani added that while economic cycles are getting increasingly hard to forecast, there is little doubt that, India – already the world’s 5th largest economy – will become the world’s 3rd largest economy well before 2030 and, thereafter, the world’s 2nd largest economy by 2050.
“It is well understood that for any economy to implement policy and lay the foundation of growth, a stable Government is critical, and we have seen this impact with the implementation of several structural reforms that are critical for strong, sustainable, and balanced growth. This stability, coupled with India’s demographics and continued expansion of internal demand, is a potent combination,” Adani said.
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Investors trust group’s governance and capital allocation
practices
- It is worth noting that even during this crisis – not only did we raise several billions from international investors – but also that – no credit agency – in India or abroad – cut any of our ratings. This is the strongest validation of the belief that the investors have in your company’s governance and capital allocation practices.
- India’s success story of balancing economic growth and a vibrant democratic society has no parallel. Our FY22-23 operational and financial results are as much a testimony to our success as testimony to the continued expansion of our customer base – be it on the B2B side or the B2C side. Our balance sheet, our assets, and our operating cashflows continue to get stronger and are now healthier than ever before. The pace at which we have made acquisitions and turned them around is unmatched across the national landscape and has fuelled a significant part of our expansion.
- Our flagship company, Adani Enterprises Limited, continued to successfully demonstrate its incubation capabilities with new businesses accounting for a massive 50% of its EBITDA in FY23. Of the several projects underway, two of the key ones include the Navi Mumbai Airport and the Copper Smelter. Both are on schedule. The Navi Mumbai Airport is preparing for Operational Readiness and Airport Transition by Dec 2024.
- The Adani Group is set to play a critical role in India’s net zero journey. Our renewable energy business, Adani Green Energy Limited, commissioned the world’s largest hybrid solar-wind project of 2.14 GW in Rajasthan. We are now building the largest hybrid renewables park in the world – right in the middle of the desert – in Khavda. It will be the most complex and ambitious project that we have ever executed. Spread over 72,000 acres, this project will be capable of generating 20 GW of green energy. And we intend to build it faster than any project in our execution history.
- The ports business continued to be a pillar of strength on all fronts. APSEZ continues to be amongst the most profitable port operators globally with port EBITDA margin of 70% – and, by 2030, we intend to be not only the most profitable port company in the world but also India’s largest transport utility capable of handling a billion tonnes of cargo annually.
In the next 12-24 months, APSEZ will commission India’s largest transshipment hub in Vizhinjam, and also a port in a Colombo. And our acquisition of Haifa Port in Israel will allow us to link our ports all the way across the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, thereby positioning us to capitalize on both the India growth story and the much larger regional growth story.
In the report, published in January, Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of carrying out the “largest con in corporate history”. Allegations had triggered political storm across the country with the Opposition criticising the Modi government.
Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was sought to be set up to probe the matter. However, the government had repeatedly turned down the opposition’s demands for JPC.
The issue is being probed by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). SEBI is yet to submit its report.
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