LIC's investment in Adani Group stocks now stands close to cost: Report

On January 30, the country's largest insurer had said that it had Rs 26,000 crore of gains in the Adani Group stocks, now this stands at just over Rs 3,000 crore

The value of the Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) investments in the Adani Group currently stands at Rs 33,686 crore against the cost of Rs 30,127 crore, a report in Hindu BusinessLine (BL) said. On January 30, the country's largest insurer had said that it had Rs 26,000 crore of gains in the Adani Group stocks. 

At the end of December, these gains were nearly Rs 50,000 crore. The profits have eroded with the fall in the overall valuation of the group after the release of the Hindenburg report on January 24. 

According to the report, LIC has lost Rs 22,876 crore of investment value in the Adani Group since January 30. The biggest fall in the value has been in Adani Total Gas and Adani Enterprises. Out of all the Adani Group stocks, LIC holds the maximum in Adani Ports followed by Adani Enterprises and Adani Total Gas. 

LIC has stated that its equity exposure in Adani Group is not "that significant". At the end of January, it was less than 1 per cent of LIC's total investments. But it must also be noted that the more the stocks fall, the less significant the holding becomes. 

The valuation of the Adani Group has fallen rapidly since the release of the report by Hindenburg Research. The net worth of Gautam Adani has also eroded significantly. On January 23, he was the third richest person on the earth. Now he is not even among the top 25. 

The BL report also added that if LIC decides to sell its holdings in the group, it might create more pressure on the Adani Group stocks.