Adani confident of governance 5 months after Hindenburg report

Press Trust of India

New Delhi: Five months after a bombshell short seller report lopped off billions of dollars in market value of his empire, Gautam Adani has reiterated that his ports-to-energy conglomerate remains confident in its governance and disclosure standards. In the annual report of group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd, the Adani Group chairman said a Supreme Court -appointed panel of experts found no regulatory failure.

Hindenburg Research on January 24 accused Adani of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud” as well as using “labyrinthian network” of shell companies for surreptitious money movements, allegations that the conglomerate has strongly denied, calling the report “a calculated attack on India”. In the annual report, Adani, 61, said the USbased short seller published the report “on the event of our Republic Day”.

The report lopped off close to USD 150 billion in market value of the group’s list companies at the lowest point and led to Adani losing the richest Indian tag. “The report was a combination of targeted misinformation and outdated, discredited allegations aimed at damaging our reputation and generating profits through a deliberate drivedown of our stock prices,” he said. The short-selling incident resulted in “several adverse consequences”, he said.

“Even though we promptly issued a comprehensive rebuttal, various vested interests tried to opportunistically exploit the claims made by the short seller. These entities engaged and encouraged false narratives across various news and social media platforms.” He then went to refer to the expert committee constituted by the Supreme Court to look into the matter. “It (the committee) comprised individuals known for their independence and integrity,” he said.