Adani Group Updates: LIC chairman to meet Adani Group management soon

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Sustainalytics downgraded corporate governance-related scores for three of India's Adani Group companies on ethics concerns, the sustainability ratings company said on Wednesday, citing questions a short-seller raised last month, reports Reuters.

The lowered scores, including for Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission, come after a Jan. 24 report from short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged accounting fraud and stock manipulation at the sprawling Indian conglomerate, hammering the shares of its listed companies and the wealth of founder Gautam Adani. 

With Saab and Adani Group having decided not to go ahead with the agreement for manufacturing Gripen E fighter in India, Mats Palmberg, India Head of the Swedish aerospace and defence company, said on Thursday that it was "mutual decision".

An agreement was signed in 2017 between Adani Group and the Swedish aerospace and defence company to make fighter jets in India. "The MoU between Saab and Adani expired in 2019 and the parties mutually agreed not to renew the same (at that point of time)," Mats Palmberg said at a press conference here. The agreement was for manufacturing 114 multi-role fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force which was expected, at that time, to be produced under a strategic partnership programme. Saab is one of the companies competing for the tender. However, after the Request for Proposal was issued, the project has not seen any forward movement.

Opposition leaders expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's address in Rajya Sabha and said he "did not talk about the main issue" raised by them.

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan referred to the Hindernberg-Adani row and said opposition parties had raised questions about investments of SBI and LIC in the Adani group whose shares had seen a steep downfall.

"PM Modi did not talk about the main issue neither in Rajya Sabha nor in Lok Sabha. The role of Modi government in this entire Adani controversy was not answered," Chavan alleged.

"We (Congress) are worried about the common man and the losses they have incurred due to their investments in LIC and SBI. PM Modi will continuously attack the Congress party in the session but will not answer the main issue," he added.

Financial index provider MSCI on Thursday said that it is reviewing the free float status of some Adani Group securities after market participants flagged concerns over eligibility of some of the group firms' securities for its indexes. Read here

LIC Chairman M R Kumar says, will meet Adani Group's top management soon.

"Though our investor team has already sought clarifications from the Adanis, our top management could contact them yet as we have been busy preparing the results. We are soon going to call them to meet us and explain. We want to understand what is happening in the market and in the group," the chairman told reporters at the earnings conference on Thursday.

"We'll be calling them in sometime soon to know how are they managing the whole crisis," Kumar added.

Aam Admi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh moved a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha on Thursday demanding a discussion on the Hindenburg report against Adani Enterprises under Rule 267.

On Wednesday, Singh demanded suspension of business under rule 267. However, the chair rejected the notice following a walkout by the AAP.

The notice said that the public sector banks and LIC had lost money in the Adani Group case after the Hindenburg report.

Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday questioned the deletion of remarks made by his party MP Rahul Gandhi in the parliament yesterday.

"Expunging of words should be done after considering all rules. We have also studied the rules as to what words they can't expunge," Kharge told reporters on deletion of some remarks made by Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha.

Deletion of a parliamentarian's remarks means that they cannot reproduced or reported in any form. Expunging Rahul Gandhi's remarks has stirred a controversy, with the opposition saying that the government is censoring statements in parliament.

Kharge said that he has given them a three-page reply, adding, "maybe they will be satisfied after reading it."

TMC MP Derek O' Brien on Thursday hit out at the government alleging censorship of the opposition protests in the Rajya Sabha during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the House.

Amid sloganeering by opposition members, Modi spoke for about 90 minutes in reply to a debate on a motion thanking the President for her address to a joint sitting of Parliament, and listed various achievements of his government.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh sends the fifth in the series of questions to the PM linked to the Adani crisis. 

Ramesh alleged that the "failure" of market regulators like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to protect Indian capital markets has "tarnished" their image and put a question mark on the integrity of India's financial markets.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed concern over the plight of people’s deposits in banks, post offices and the LIC, claiming that the existence of such institutions might be at stake in future.

Banerjee’s comments come in the wake of the Hindenburg Research report that made a slew of allegations of wrongdoing against the business conglomerate led by industrialist Gautam Adani, in which state-owned lender SBI and Life Insurance Corporation have exposure.

"Some day, they will say wind up LIC, banks and post offices; so where will the people go?" she said, in an indirect reference to the BJP-led central government.

Adani Group is offering shipments of coal at a discount, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a sign the embattled conglomerate may be seeking to sell cargoes quickly as its liquidity position comes under increased scrutiny.

The group’s traders are offering to sell several coal shipments from Australia and Indonesia at discounts of about 4% relative to Asia’s price benchmarks, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss private details. While Adani hasn’t spelled out its motivation for offering discounts and it’s not the only producer doing so, the move suggests the firm is eager to offload the cargoes swiftly, the people said.

DMK leader A Raja claimed on Thursday that the opposition's allegations about businessman Gautam Adani stand true as the government has not "refuted" them.

Participating in a discussion on the Union Budget for 2023-24, Raja said the claim of the government that it was the representative of 140 crore people of the country was also not true as the opposition has more than 200 MPs in Lok Sabha.

"The allegations made by the opposition were not refuted at all by the government. Since it was not refuted, it stands true," he said.

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling him a ‘Spokesman and Salesman’ for Adani Group

Spokesman and Salesman of the year award for the Adani group goes to our one and only, Hon. Pradhan Mantri ji, Chaturvedi said in a tweet

Indian shares struggled for direction before closing marginally higher on Thursday as gains in high-weightage financials and tech stocks offset concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-hike trajectory and a slide in Adani Group stocks.

The Nifty 50 index closed 0.12% higher at 17,893.45, while the S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.23% up at 60,806.22.

Both the indexes traded in a tight range between 0.35% gains and 0.6% losses.

Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes logged losses, with metals falling 1.58%. Adani Enterprises, with nearly 20% weightage on the metal index, led the decline.

Norway's $1.35 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday it has in recent weeks divested virtually all its remaining shares in companies belonging to India's Adani group.

"We have monitored Adani for many years (on ESG) issues, many on their handling of environmental risks," Christopher Wright, the fund's head of ESG risk monitoring, told a news conference.

The fund had divested from five Adani companies since 2014 and at the end of 2022, it remained invested in three, including Adani Ports.

"Since year-end, we have further reduced in Adani companies. We have no exposure left," he said.

At the end of 2022, the Norwegian fund held shares in Adani Green Energy worth $52.7 million, a stake in Adani Total Gas worth $83.6 million and ownership in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone worth $63.4 million.

Opposition is against science, technology; they are not bothered about country, but only about their politics: PM Modi.

PM said, opposition using half truths to create new narratives, spread falsehood. He also asserted, he alone is enough to take on the opposition. 

If Nehru was such a great person, why the family shies away from using 'Nehru' surname: PM Modi in apparent dig at Gandhis.

Some had problems with names of schemes of govt & Sanskrit words in the names. I read in a report that 600 govt schemes were in the Gandhi-Nehru family's name...I don't understand why people from their generation don't keep Nehru as their surname, what's the fear & shame?, PM cited

PM Modi says Congress govt at Centre dismissed 90 state governments by 'misusing' Article 356 of the Constitution.

Which party & people in power misused Article 356? Elected govts were toppled 90 times, who were those who did that? A Prime minister used Article 356 50 times & that name is Indira Gandhi. In Kerala communist govt was elected which wasn't liked by Pandit Nehru & was toppled

For decades, the development of tribal communities was neglected. We gave top priority to their welfare... People of the country are repeatedly rejecting Congress. People are watching them and punishing them, PM said in the speech

Attempts being made to show in bad light Indian scientists who produced indigenous vaccine in Covid times, says PM Modi.

There was pressure from people in world to sell their vaccine in our market, articles were written, TV interviews were given. There were attempts till yesterday to insult our scientists but my country's scientists made vaccines that were approved & benefitted 150 countries, PM Modi said in Parliament

‘We do not believe in tokenism, we are working hard to take country forward through science and technology’

 BJP MPs raise Modi-Modi slogan to overpower Oppositions ‘Modi-Adani’ sloganeering

As Congress demands answer on Adani, PM counters Congress party's economic, social and political policies were based on vote bank politics

As PM Modi speaks on several development issues, opposition raises slogan ‘Adani pe kuchh to bolo’, ‘Adani gulami bandh karo’, ‘Modi Adani bhai-bhai’

They (Congress) used to say ‘Gareebi Hatao’ but did nothing for over 4 decades. While we work hard to meet the expectations and aspirations of the people of the country: PM Modi in Rajya Sabha during Motion of Thanks on President's address

Congress said on Twitter, India was eagerly waiting for PM Modi's address on one of the biggest scams in the country, the Adani scam. However, as usual, our PM didn't utter a single word about his friend Adani.

I want to tell these MPs (Opposition MPs)...the more you throw 'keechad', the better the lotus will bloom: PM Modi in Rajya Sabha during Motion of Thanks on President's address

“The officials did not find any irregularities in the operations & dealings conducted by the company. We would like to clarify that the concerns specific to GST payments in cash, citing GST law under Rule 86B, company is not required to pay tax liability in cash," the company said.

"We would like to emphasise that this was a routine inspection carried out by the relevant authorities and there was no raid as previously stated or reported in the media,” a Spokesperson for Adani Wilmar said.

As PM Modi starts speaking, opposition starts sloganeering  'Modi-Adani bhai-bhai'. Opposition MPs raise slogan demanding the formation of JPC on Adani issue

Opposition MPs storm the well of the House as PM Modi replies to Motion of Thanks on President's address, in Rajya Sabha. Read here

PM Modi has started his speech in Rajya Sabha as the Opposition begins sloganeering, demanding a JPC in the Adani row.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address at 2 pm in Rajya Sabha on Thursday during the ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament.

"A sharp capitulation of portfolio flows, amplified by the Adani meltdown, render pre-existing rupee vulnerabilities far more acute," Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, wrote in a note.

Delhi Police detained Youth Congress workers who were protesting over Adani-Hindenburg issue outside Shastri Bhawan in Delhi

Scores of All India Mahila Congress members staged a protest at Jantar Mantar on Thursday against the Centre and Adani group over allegations of financial irregularities and market manipulation. The women raised slogans and held placards demanding investigations into the matter.

In response to the MSCI statement, Hindenburg founder Nathan Anderson wrote on Twitter: "We view this as validation of our findings".

Shares of Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) surged more than 5% to ₹440 apiece on the BSE even when all other group stocks were trading in the red again on February 9. At 11 am, the stock was trading at ₹440.30, up 5 %on the BSE.

Adani Wilmar is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between business conglomerate Adani Group and Singapore-based food processing company Wilmar International. 

A selloff in Adani Group’s bonds has made Indian companies’ dollar notes the worst performers in Asia this year, returning a meager 1.4%, according to a Bloomberg Index.

MSCI calculates free float-adjusted market-capitalization for each security. Free float-adjusted market-capitalization (m-cap) technically is a method to calculate m-cap of shares that are readily available in the market. It is calculated by multiplying an equity's share price to number of shares available in the market.

Read more: MSCI reviews Adani stocks: What is free-float status in shares?

Verbal skirmishes and frequent interventions by the Chair marked Rajya Sabha proceedings on Wednesday as Opposition parties continued to clamour for a JPC probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row. 

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge led the charge, asking the government why it was "shying away" from an investigation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the debate at 2 pm on Thursday.

“PM didn't answer our question on Adani issue yesterday. Modi ji always speaks diverting from the real issue. We raised questions on how Adani become a millionaire and how such lefty loans were given to him, but none were answered,” asserted Congress chief and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea seeking court-monitored probe into Hindenburg Research report on Adani firms. The case will be heard on Friday.

“Yesterday the country was expecting an answer from the PM on the Adani issue. Why are they afraid of the truth. If govt doesn't want to hide anything then why they are running away from JPC... We are expecting an answer from PM in Rajya Sabha today,” he said.

He also criticised the expunging of Rahul Gandhi's comment, insisting that there was “not even a single word that is unparliamentary”.

“We are writing to Speaker in Lok Sabha. How can it be removed? Rahul Gandhi asked a question that how many times did the PM travel with Adani during his foreign trips? What is the use of removing it?” he asked.

The Parwanoo South Zone Enforcement wing of Himachal Excise and Taxation Department inspected stocks of Adani Wilmar Ltd at Parwanoo late Wednesday evening. Officials however told news agency PTI that it was a routine inspection of stock.

Nine of the group’s 10 stocks declined Thursday, with flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. plunging as much as 20% before paring the bulk of its losses. That follows a 35% jump over the previous two sessions. 

The group’s market value has fallen sharply over the past two weeks after US-based Hindenburg published a critical report on January 24. At one point the losses had reached $117 billion.

Shares of Adani Power fell 5% to 172.90 apiece on BSE in early deals, after the company on Wednesday reported a 96% decline in consolidated net profit at ₹8.77 crore for the December quarter.

Edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd edged lower by 1.79% to 411.85 per scrip, despite the company reporting a 16% increase in its consolidated profit to ₹246.16 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022.

Adani Group's flagship Adani Enterprises was trading 5.56% down at ₹2038.55 apiece on BSE.

According to the RBI, domestic banks' exposure to the Adani Group is "not very significant", and the system is strong and large enough to not get impacted by a single case.

France's Total Energies has put their participation in Adani Groups $50 billion Green Hydrogen project on hold pending results of an audit. This is one of the Adani Group's first large plans to be put on hold post the Hindenburg report and growing pressure for a clarification from foreign partners.

Two stocks have been put under the ban for trade on Thursday under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The securities have been put on ban under the F&O segment as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit, as per the NSE. Cement maker Ambuja Cements continues to be a part of the ban list, whereas Indiabulls Housing Finance has been added to the F&O ban by the stock exchange for today.

Read more: Ambuja Cements, Indiabulls Housing Finance stocks under F&O ban for trade on NSE today

After their respective earnings for the third quarter ended December 2022 (Q3 FY23), global brokerage Jefferies has recommended Buy ratings on two Adani Group stocks - Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Ambuja Cements.

Read more: 2 Adani Group stocks to buy as Jefferies bullish post Q3 results