No refinancing, capital plans at HK roadshow, says Adani Group CFO

Adani Group isn’t seeking to refinance debt or inject capital, its finance chief said on the sidelines of an investor roadshow aimed at rebuilding confidence in the crisis-ridden Indian conglomerate.  
 

Chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh made the remarks in response to questions from Bloomberg News while attending investor meetings in Hong Kong Tuesday, the final leg of an Asian tour that began in Singapore Monday. 

The three-day roadshow scheduled to end in Hong Kong Wednesday marks the latest effort by billionaire Gautam Adani’s group to reassure investors after US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Singh’s comments came after company executives said Monday the group has enough money to repay debt due over the next three years in addition to an $800 million credit facility. 

The ports-to-power conglomerate has repeatedly denied the allegations made by Hindenburg in a Jan. 24 report. 

When asked “Are you looking to refinance any debt?” on the sidelines of the Hong Kong roadshow Tuesday, Singh said: “No, we don’t have anything major at all.” 

“There’s no transactions,” he added, without specifying a timeframe or elaborating further. 

He also said “No” in response to the question: “Are you looking to inject any capital?” 

Adani Group has taken a suite of rescue moves in recent weeks, from cutting expenses to early debt repayment, that have helped pull most of its dollar bonds from distressed territory. However, the notes remain below levels seen before the short-seller’s report while a stock selloff also has extended. 

Even as many of the group’s at least 15 dollar bonds have rebounded from recent lows, they are still about 5% to 18% lower than where they were before Hindenburg released its report, amounting to a combined loss of about $800 million, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Monday’s meetings took place at a hotel in Singapore, with help from about a dozen global banks. Attendees were offered a more-than-10-page presentation on topics ranging from earnings to the debt maturity profile, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg. Some of those in attendance raised concerns over some of the debt and the recent volatility of bond prices, the investors said. 

At least two of the investors in attendance told Bloomberg they’ve been buying Adani bonds, citing the group’s credit quality backed by cash-generating assets. Two others, however, said they were cautious about new debt investments in the group until corporate governance issues were resolved. 

The roadshow will continue in Hong Kong on Tuesday and Wednesday, at the office of Barclays Plc.

Separately, the asset management unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. has wiped its ESG portfolios clean of their exposure to the Adani empire.