The empire of the richest man in Asia trembles. The Adani group, owned by Gautam Adani, left 18% on the stock market this Friday amid investor doubts. The reason, an extensive report by Hindenburg Research, a financial company specializing in short operations, which accuses him of accounting fraud and market manipulation for decades.
It is, according to the text published on Wednesday, "the biggest scam in corporate history." Added to this are levels of debt that jeopardize its viability and the use of tax havens. Hindenburg has made it public that he is short Adani, so he makes money by dropping him.
Adani currently has a fortune of 97,000 million dollars, about 88,700 million euros, according to Forbes. His group is a giant with businesses from plastic and renewables to real estate or the port industry.
The growth of the group has taken advantage of a strong leverage, between investments and colossal loans. The group has a debt of 23.340 million dollars, according to Jefferies. Adani says that its debt is at a manageable level and that no investors have expressed any concerns. Its stock market value, which exceeds its profit by 700 times, has also been questioned.
For Hindenburg, he is a giant with feet of clay, whose financial stability is in question. Adani assures that the report is unfounded and values denouncing it in American justice. It is not the first time his career has been in the spotlight, with recent criticism over his proximity to President Narendra Modi. The main opposition party has often accused Adani and other billionaires of receiving favorable political treatment from the Modi administration.
The Indian regulator is analyzing Hindenburg's report to see if it includes it in its ongoing investigation into the group's offshore financing.
Be that as it may, with the fall on Thursday, seven large listed companies of the conglomerate have left 48,000 million dollars in market value since Wednesday, according to a Reuters calculation.
