Gautam Adani loses $9 billion of personal wealth in worst market rout
21 Jun 2021
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Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani saw his personal wealth tumble by $9 billion to $67.6 billion over a four-day period starting Monday, following a report speculating about the genuineness of some of his offshore investors.
The biggest-ever market rout, triggered by a media report that raised questions about some offshore investors, hit the conglomerate’s six listed stocks, which continues unabated.
The market rout comes at a time when the 58-year-old tycoon was closing the gap with Mukesh Ambani as Asia’s richest man. Adani Group stocks continued to fall on Thursday.
The share fall started on Monday after The Economic Times reported that India’s national share depository froze the accounts of three Mauritius-based funds because of insufficient information about the owners – that the bulk of the holdings of Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund and APMS Investment Fund of about $6 billion - are shares of Adani’s firms.
Adani group said the report is “blatantly erroneous" and that it was “done to deliberately mislead the investing community," investors concerned over transparency rushed for the exit.
The Mauritius offshore funds hold more than 90 per cent of their assets under management in Adani group companies, according to a Bloomberg report.
In identical exchange filings the same day, Adani group companies said that they had written confirmation from the Registrar and Transfer Agent that the offshore funds’ demat accounts in which Adani shares were held “are not frozen."
Shares of Adani Green Energy Ltd, slipped 7.7 per cent this week. Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd plunged 23 per cent in four days, Adani Power Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd and Adani Transmission Ltd tumbled at least 18 per cent, while flagship Adani Enterprises fell almost 15 per cent.
The stock had soared more than 500 per cent since the start of 2020, which took Adani’s personal wealth was close to $80 billion earlier this month. Adani has been making big push into sectors such as renewable energy, airports, data centers and defence contracting.
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