Tata Group loses $75 bn in market value, slides to 2 yr low as risks grow

By Ashutosh Joshi

 

India’s Tata Group has lost more than $75 billion in market value this year, with a significant chunk of the erosion coming in recent weeks following challenges ranging from US visa curbs to a cyberattack. 

The combined market value of the biggest Indian conglomerate’s 16 firms dropped to its lowest in nearly two years on Friday, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The group lost about $20 billion, over a fifth of this year’s total decline, since Sept. 19 after President Donald Trump tightened US work-visa rules, weighing on Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. 

 

Tata Consultancy Services, the group’s crown jewel and a symbol of India’s tech prowess, has led the losses, sliding over 8 per cent last week in its steepest drop since 2020. The stock, along with Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd, fell for all five sessions last week after Trump raised H-1B visa fees. 

 

“These companies may not bid on contracts that require material onshore presence, which in turn could hurt new contract bookings over the next several quarters,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Anurag Rana and Andrew Girard wrote in a note, adding that pure-play firms such as TCS face the greatest risk.

 

Tata Motors Ltd slumped about 5 per cent last week after a cyberattack crippled Jaguar Land Rover plants, before the luxury carmaker JLR secured UK backing for a $2 billion loan to ease the strain on suppliers. 

 

In total, shares of 12 of Tata Group’s 16 listed firms have dropped this year through Friday. Tejas Networks Ltd. has lost half its value, while Trent Ltd. and Nelco Ltd. have each shed nearly a third.