International News

Hindenburg report a targeted misinformation: Gautam Adani

Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani has come down heavily on the Hindenburg report at the annual general meeting of the Adani Group.“As all of you are aware, on the eve of our Republic Day this year, a US-based short-seller published a report to short our stocks just as we were planning to launch the largest Follow-on Public Offering in India history,” he said while talking at the event on Tuesday.
“The report was a combination of targeted misinformation and discredited allegations, the majority of them dating from 2004 to 2015. They were all settled by the appropriate authorities at that time.
This report was a deliberate and malicious attempt aimed at damaging our reputation and generating profits through a short-term drive-down of our stock prices,” he added.Subsequently, despite a fully subscribed FPO, Adani Group decided to withdraw and return the money to their investors to protect their interests. While the company promptly issued a comprehensive rebuttal, various vested interests tried to exploit the claims made by the short seller, he further said.
Consequently, the Supreme Court of India constituted an Expert Committee to look into this matter. The committee included individuals known for their independence and integrity.
The report of the Expert Committee was made public in May 2023, Gautam Adani said.“The Expert Committee did not find any regulatory failure,” he added.
He also mentioned that no credit agency – in India or abroad – cut any of Adani Group ratings.“Along this journey, if there is one characteristic that has continued to define us – it has been our resilience,” he said.
“Our balance sheet, our assets, and our operating cashflows continue to get stronger and are now healthier than ever before. The pace at which we have made acquisitions and turned them around is unmatched across the national landscape and has fuelled a significant part of our expansion,” he said.
Reminiscing the journey of Adani Group, he said, “Today, as I reflect over the past years, I am grateful to so many, who have enabled your company to come this far. While our true ambitions still lie ahead of us – when we make time to look back – we also realize how much ground we have covered over the past 30 years.”
“Let me again reemphasize how grateful I am for all your support. It has been the source of my greatest strength. It is my promise that I will do my utmost to uphold the trust you put in me and my team,” he ended.

AdaniConneX Seals the Largest Data Center Financing Deal in India

AdaniConneX achieved financial closure through its maiden construction facility by entering into Financing Framework, raising USD 213 Mn for its under-construction data center asset portfolio. The tied-up facility will finance two data centers with an aggregate capacity of 67 MW that includes Chennai 1 campus with Phase 1 of 17 MW and Noida campus of 50 MW.
India is one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the world, and as per CRISIL estimates the data center capacity in India is expected to double from ~870 MW in FY22 to 1700-1800 MW by FY25. To address the growing need for reliable IT infrastructure, AdaniConneXis investing capital with a mission to build a 1 GW Green Data Center platform, enabled by hyperscale to hyperlocal data center investments across the country.
The Platform Infrastructure Financing finalized through the Framework Agreement with international lenders shall institutionalize the development agenda for AdaniConneX. ING Bank N.V., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., MUFG Bank, Ltd., Natixis, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation have committed to the facility. The access to the wide pool of liquidity strengthens AdaniConneX strategy to fast-track the implementation of the under-construction asset portfolio in sync with accelerating demand.
“The construction facility is the key ingredient of AdaniConneX capital management plan, providing the pathway for us to deliver on-time a reliable and sustainable data centercapacity of1 GW by 2030,”said Mr Jeyakumar Janakaraj, CEO of AdaniConneX. “The achievement marks a significant milestone in developing this transformative initiative, which is set to revolutionize the digital infrastructure in India.”
“We are committed to deliveringa pan-India Data Center platform,” said Mr. Anil Sardana, Director of AdaniConneX (Adani representative on the board).“The facility shall encourage over all implementation philosophy to power the digital infrastructure by delivering clean and long-term renewable energy solutions aiming toward acarbon-neutral footprint. EdgeConneX extensive data center expertise and industry-leading technology solutions combined with Adani expertise in full-stack energy management, renewable power, and project development are set to transformthe sector.”
“We welcome the banking partners through their participation with AdaniConneX. Weare excited about our overall journey with Adani in India that has started with a robust implementation plan and a tremendous customer pipeline that will quickly establish AdaniConneX as the leading digital infrastructure platform for all of India. Leveraging Adani proven infrastructure experience and EdgeConneXdata center record, we are keen to play an integral and pivotal role - bringing in a digital revolution,” said Edmund Wilson,Director – AdaniConneX (Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, EdgeConneX).
The construction facility finances two data center projects in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh), with customized enterprise colocation offerings and hyperscale solutions. The Chennai 1 campus with Phase-1 17 MW data center capacity is Tamil Nadu first pre-certified IGBC Platinum Rated data center providing customized colocation solutions to enterprise segment. The under-construction Noida campus is being implemented with a 50 MW capacity to support strategic expansion needs of hyperscale customers in India.
ING Bank N.V., Mizuho Bank Ltd., MUFG Bank Ltd., Natixis, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation acted as Mandated Lead Arranger, Bookrunner (MLAB). Among other partners, Allen & Overy and Saraf & Partners were the borrower counsels. The lenders counsels were Clifford Chance and Cyril Amarch and Mangaldas.

MDMS in Nepal, similar to BTRC’s NEIR, to keep illegal handsets off

Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has recently implemented Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) in the country, ensuring better control of unauthorized mobile phone entry into the country. MDMS is a high-tech solution that has been introduced with the intention of disabling unregistered smartphones. Nepal Government Ministry of Finance– Custom Department has notified that the MDMS system will be compulsory for all mobile sets used within the border.
Mobile sets brought from abroad for commercial use with customs clearance will be promptly registered in the MDMS system. Meanwhile, individuals can register mobile sets brought for commercial purposes in the MDMS by themselves. Additionally, passengers entering Nepal from abroad will be permitted to bring up to two mobile phones.
It is to be mentioned that Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) already took a similar step in 2021, called National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR), which was aimed at blocking illegal handsets in the country. NEIR has the potential to play a key role in identifying and blocking unauthorized mobile handsets in the network. As a result, it can gradually stop the use of illegal handsets and reduce crimes related to phone stealing. The system is designed to support the increase in a country’s revenue collection, and hence all the handset manufacturers and other industry stakeholders appreciated the initiative whole heartedly. However, this step by the BTRC has not fully materialized yet.

No shell company in Mauritius: Mauritius Min tells Parliament

Mauritian Financial Services Minister Mahen Kumar Seeruttun has told the nation Parliament that Hindenburg Research allegations of the presence of shell companies in the Island nation are false and baseless and that Mauritius was in compliance with OECD-mandated tax rules.
US short seller Hindenburg on January 24 alleged that billionaire Gautam Adani used shell companies based in Mauritius to manipulate stock prices of his Indian-listed companies. A shell company is an inactive firm used as a vehicle for various financial manoeuvres.
When a Member of Parliament (MP) through a written notice question asked the Minister about Hindenburg allegation of use of Mauritius-based entities as conduits for money laundering and share price manipulation for the Adani Group, the minister said the nation law does not allow shell companies.
"At the outset, I wish to inform the House that the allegations of the presence of shell companies in Mauritius are false and baseless," he said. "According to the law, shell companies are not allowed in Mauritius."
All global business companies licensed by the Financial Services Commission have to meet substance requirements on an ongoing basis and are being strictly monitored by the Commission, he said."So far, there has been no breach that has been found," he said.
He said the Financial Services Commission has taken note of the Hindenburg report but the regulator is bound by the confidentiality clause of the law and cannot disclose details.
"The Financial Services Commission can neither deny nor confirm whether an investigation has been and/or is being conducted. As such, disclosure of information on global business companies would be in breach of section 83 of the Financial Services Act and may have an adverse impact on the repute of our jurisdiction," he said.
Dhanesswurnath Vikash Thakoor, chief executive officer, of FSC, had previously stated that an initial assessment of all the entities related to the Adani group in Mauritius was not found to be any non-compliance with rules.
Listing out the requirements for companies registering in Mauritius, the minister said they first have to carry out their core income-generating activities in or from the country. They must be managed and controlled from Mauritius, have at least two directors resident in Mauritius, maintain at all times their principal bank account in the country, keep and maintain at all times their accounting records at their registered office in Mauritius and prepare their statutory financial statements and cause those financial statements to be audited in Mauritius.
The statement came just before the Hindenburg-Adani issue comes up in Supreme Court. The apex court, which had appointed an expert committee to look into regulatory issues, is likely to take up capital market regulator SEBI plea for a six-month extension in timelines to probe allegations against the Adani group.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is assessing the connection between Adani Group and two Mauritian firms - Great International Tusker Fund and Ayushmat Ltd - that participated as anchor investors in the recently cancelled share sale of Adani Group flagship company.
The conglomerate lost USD 140 billion in market capitalisation at one point after short seller Hindenburg raised allegations of fraud and stock price manipulation against the group. Adani Group, however, has denied all the charges.
"With respect to the allegation of Mauritius being a tax haven, I wish to inform the House that Mauritius strictly complies with the international best practices and has been rated as compliant with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD standards," the Mauritian minister told the Parliament.
Since 2018, Mauritius has reformed its global business framework and tax regime with a view to removing harmful tax practices. "As per the peer review conducted by the OECD forum on harmful tax practices, the OECD is satisfied that Mauritius does not have any harmful features in its tax regimes, thus recognizing Mauritius as a well-regulated, transparent and compliant jurisdiction," he said.
He said the Financial Services Commission monitored the Adani issue closely. "The commission is pursuing its actions within the ambit of the relevant legislations and in line with its current supervisory process. It has been carrying out reviews of all the companies cited in the Hindenburg report."
"And as part of the Supervisory Review, the Financial Services Commission has requested and received compliance reports pertaining to all the relevant companies, which show compliance with the prevailing legislations in Mauritius. Given the multilayering of those companies cited in the report, the Financial Services Commission continues to monitor the matter diligently," he said.
Also, the Financial Services Commission is collaborating with law enforcement agencies in Mauritius and overseas regulators on the matter.
When the MP asked how he arrived at the conclusion that allegations made in the report are false and baseless, the minister said he was referring to the statement made the report with regard to shell companies being registered in Mauritius.
"And this is, like I said in my reply, to be able to be licensed in Mauritius, there are conditions and requirements that need to be satisfied. And those conditions, I have spelled out all those conditions, and based on the fact that these companies adhere to those conditions, then it is unfounded to say that those companies are shell companies" he said. PT

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