Billionaire banker Uday Kotak founded bank as well as brokerage created and oversaw an offshore fund used by an unnamed investor to profit from a plunge in Adani shares that followed a damning Hindenburg report, the US short seller said on Tuesday. Hindenburg Research, which had in a January 2023 report alleged stock market manipulations and accounting fraud at the Adani group, said it has received a show cause notice from the Indian markets regulator Sebi over gains made from betting on the conglomerate's shares.
Corporate India's struggle with subdued revenue and earnings growth persisted in the October-December quarter of 2024-25 (Q3FY25). The combined net sales (gross interest earnings for lenders) of listed companies grew in single digits for the seventh consecutive quarter, while their combined net profit rose by a single digit for the third straight quarter.
State Bank of India, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and PowerGrid were also among the laggards.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent invitations to 7,000 people, including 3,000 VVIPs, for the consecration.
The Adani group said Reliance Infrastructure, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, had initiated arbitration on one specific dispute under the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) in December 2021 with a claim for just Rs 500 crore. Adani said it has filed counterclaims against the Ambani company. The Adani group firm, Adani Electricity was reacting to a Reliance Infrastructure statement of last week, which said it has filed an arbitration claim of Rs 13,400 crore against Adani Group in the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA). Reliance had cited a breach of a December 2017 share purchase agreement relating to the transfer of its Mumbai power distribution business to Adani Transmission.
The SEBI and the RBI will look into it. Let their reports come in, BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani said.
US short seller Hindenburg Research, which had rocked the Adani Group with allegations of stock market manipulation and accounting fraud, on Tuesday said it has received a show cause notice from Indian capital market regulator Sebi over alleged violations in placing bets on the conglomerate stocks. Hindenburg termed the show cause notice as "nonsense" and "concocted to serve a pre-ordained purpose: an attempt to silence and intimidate those who expose corruption and fraud perpetrated by the most powerful individuals in India."
Adani Enterprises, which is launching India Inc's second-largest follow-on public offer worth Rs 20,000 crore next week, on Thursday said it is planning to enter the water segment as this is a key element of its core business of infrastructure. The group is into the entire gamut of infrastructure -- being its ports, airports, roads, expressways power generation & distribution, among others. In ports and airports, the group is the largest player in the private sector. Addressing media from Milan, group chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said the company has fixed the price band for the Rs 20,000-crore issue in the range of Rs 3,112-3,276 per share.
Five state-run general insurance companies have a total exposure of Rs 347.64 crore, or 0.14 per cent of their total assets under management (AUM), in Adani group of companies, the finance ministry said on Monday. In a written reply to a question by Congress' Manish Tewari, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said Life Insurance Corp (LIC) held Rs 35,917.31 crore in debt and equity of Adani group of companies as on December 31, 2022. This is 0.97 per cent of its total assets under management (AUM) of Rs 41.66 trillion.
Equity investors will track the trading activity of foreign investors, global trends and ongoing earnings results for further cues, and benchmark indices may continue to witness consolidation in a holiday-shortened week amid the monthly derivatives expiry, analysts said. Markets fell sharply last week amid massive foreign capital outflows and dismal Q2 earnings so far. Weakness in the markets might continue in the near term amid cautiousness among investors ahead of the US presidential election early next month, an expert said.
Gautam Adani was the world's third and Asia's richest man a month back but a damning report by a US firm triggered a massive sell-off in shares of his apples-to-airport group, plunging his own wealth by $80 billion and the tycoon slipping to No.30 on the world billionaire index. Adani's sprawling conglomerate, which spans from sea ports to airports, edible oil and commodities, energy, cement and data centres, is under attack by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, which successfully deflated electric-vehicle maker Nikola Motors in 2020. Hindenburg, which held short positions in unidentified shares of Adani Group firms through its US-traded debt and offshore derivatives, on January 24 accused the conglomerate of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud" and using a number of offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.
With Sebi telling the Supreme Court that it was not investigating the Adani group since 2016, the Congress on Monday cited a Union minister's reply in the Lok Sabha to challenge the claim and asked whether Parliament was misled or the market regulator was "fast asleep" as investors were "duped".
Foreign banks and private credit funds are queuing up to fund acquisitions by Indian companies who are buying out their local rivals. The Adani Group, Torrent Group, and the Hindujas have approached several foreign banks and private equity (PE) firms to fund their acquisitions. Global investors have about $2 trillion of funds to invest, and about $100 to $150 billion is set aside for India, according to an estimate by JP Morgan.
Adani group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. The group has maintained it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
The Congress on Wednesday asserted that the only way to comprehensively investigate the Adani issue is through a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and claimed that the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee would be a 'clean chit' panel for the government.
'They want to snatch the land and give it to their friends'
Billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday did an hour-long session of yoga exercises in the open air as he led corporate India to join the International Day of Yoga celebrations. Several public and private sector companies held yoga sessions at their offices to promote the adoption of exercise in daily routines to stay fit and healthy. Adani, chairman of logistics-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group, and his wife Priti, who heads the Adani Foundation, "participated with more than 1,000 members of the Adani Parivaar team to celebrate health, mindfulness and meditation," the group said in a statement. The session was held at a football ground at Adani Shantigram in Ahmedabad. Several other business leaders tweeted pictures of their yoga sessions.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Adani group's takeover bid of of NDTV, arguably the rare English and Hindi news television network that is not part of what has come to be known as the godi media.
Shares of most of the Adani group firms ended lower on Monday, a day after it released a 413-page response to allegations of wrongdoing brought by a US-based short seller Hindenburg Research.
NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy on Friday said they will sell all but 5 per cent of their remaining shareholding in the news broadcaster to Adani Group for up to Rs 647.6 crore. Roys, who founded New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) as India's first and largest private producer of news current affairs and entertainment television, lost their status of being the company's largest shareholder in recent weeks. This follows Adani Group becoming the majority shareholding of NDTV after first buying out a company backed by the founders and then acquiring more shares from the open market.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato cracked nearly 7 per cent. Power Grid, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and UltraTech Cement were the other major laggards. In contrast, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.
Against an offer of 4.55 crore shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd, only 4.7 lakh were subscribed, according to information available from the BSE. Adani Enterprises fell almost 20 per cent to below the offer price of its secondary sale as all the seven listed companies of the conglomerate took a beating in the aftermath of Hindenberg Reserach alleged that the group was "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the BJP in her maiden Lok Sabha speech, accusing the government of trying to weaken the Constitution and prioritizing the interests of one individual over the people. She criticized the BJP's alleged attempts to change the Constitution, the growing monopoly of the Adani Group, atrocities on women, and the demand for a nationwide caste census. She also challenged the BJP to hold elections using ballot paper, saying it would expose the reality.
The crucial hearing on the PILs by a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud assumes significance in the wake of recent developments in which the Centre agreed to the apex court's proposal to set up a committee, likely to be headed by a former Supreme Court judge, to look into the regulatory regimes.
From 30 Sensex firms, Adani Ports, NTPC, Power Grid, State Bank of India, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services were the biggest laggards. Axis Bank, Infosys, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the gainers from the blue-chip pack.
The Parliament session is set to start today, with various issues slated to be discussed, including the Waqf Act (Amendment) Bill.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were among the laggards. On the other hand, State Bank of India was the only gainer.
Billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday reiterated that the Hindenburg report was a combination of misinformation and discredited allegations. 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 index could be vulnerable to a bigger fall given the present market dynamics.
'I am not interested in anything but the truth. I only speak the truth, it is my work and I will keep doing it even if I get disqualified or get arrested'
Raut said industrialists should be supported, but not corruption.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Thursday its order on a batch of PILs on the recent Adani group shares crash triggered by the Hindenburg Research's fraud allegations.
The Maha Kumbh, billed as the world's largest gathering, concluded on Wednesday after 45 days, with lakhs of devotees taking a dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers. Despite a stampede that killed at least 30 people, millions continued to visit the Kumbh, seeking salvation through the ritual bath. The event saw a mix of faith, tradition, and technology, drawing pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.
The number of Indian billionaires has grown by 123 per cent in the 10-year period, reaching 185 in 2024. Their wealth has grown by 263 per cent to $905.6 billion.
Ambani's wealth jumped $3.59 billion in the past 24 hours, while Adani added $2.96 billion to his net worth.
Among the new entries, the largest by market capitalisation are LIC, Avenue Supermarts (DMart), Adani Green Energy, Zomato and Jio Financial Services.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the Securities and Exchange Board of India time till August 14 to complete its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the SEBI to file an updated status report of the investigation.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Gautam Adani's hostile takeover attempt of Radhika and Prannoy Roy's NDTV.
Bangladesh has sought revision of a 2017 power purchase agreement with Adani Power Ltd as the price for the coal-generated electricity appeared too expensive, officials said in Dhaka on Thursday. "We have communicated with the Indian company seeking revision of the agreement," an official of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDC) told PTI on the condition of anonymity and without elaborating on the matter. Media reports suggested that the "high coal price" to be purchased for the Adani plant at India's Jharkhand emerged as the key factor for the dispute.
Well-known US activist investor Hindenburg Research has alleged that Adani Group was "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud", a charge the conglomerate described as malicious, unsubstantiated, one-sided, and having done with malafide intention to ruin its share-sale. Hindenburg, a US-based investment research firm that specialises in activist short-selling, said its two-year investigation reveals that "the Rs 17.8 trillion ($218 billion) Indian conglomerate Adani Group has engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades." The report comes ahead of a Rs 20,000 crore follow-on share sale of Adani Group's flagship Adani Enterprises.