Hindenburg report 'targeted misformation', false allegations: Gautam Adani

'Vested interests tried to opportunistically exploit' short-seller's claims, says billionaire

Five months after a report by Hindenburg Research lopped off billions of dollars in market value of his empire, Gautam Adani on Tuesday said he remained confident about his firm’s governance and disclosure standards.

The 61-year-old chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate told shareholders that the American short-seller’s report in January was “targeted misformation” aimed to damage Adani group’s reputation and misused by “vested interests”.

"The short-selling incident resulted in several adverse consequences that we had to confront. Even though we promptly issued a comprehensive rebuttal, various vested interests tried to opportunistically exploit the claims made by the short-seller. These entities engaged and encouraged false narratives across news and social platforms," said Adani.

The Supreme Court later set up an expert committee, and its report, made public in May 2023, found no regulatory failure.

"The Committee’s report not only observed that the mitigating measures undertaken by your company helped rebuild confidence but also cited that there were credible charges of concerted destabilisation of the Indian markets,” Adani told shareholders. “It also confirmed the quality of our group’s disclosures and found no instance of regulatory failure or any breach. While the Sebi is still to submit its report in the months ahead, we remain confident of our governance and disclosure standards,” he added.

Adani Total Gas to invest Rs 20,000 cr

Adani Total Gas (ATGL) plans to invest up to Rs 20,000 crore in the next 10 years to build urban gas distribution infrastructure. “We intend to make prudent investments in new businesses in providing. wider energy offerings,” Gautam Adani said. He said the company was looking to build over 3,000 EV charging points across India and was commissioning one of India's largest biomass plants in Uttar Pradesh, the ATGL Chairman said.