NEW DELHI – The dramatic fall in Adani Group’s shares following allegations by Hindenburg Research is unlikely to spill over to other Indian conglomerates as they fare well on key business parameters, according to Bloomberg Economics.
Most major companies, including Reliance Industries and Tata Group, scored higher than the ports-to-power conglomerate in a Bloomberg Economics analysis of governance, liquidity and leverage conditions at India’s top 17 business houses.
“Adani is an outlier, not representative of India Inc as a whole,” said economists Abhishek Gupta, Scott Johnson and Tom Orlik in their report on Tuesday. “India’s conglomerates do not yet rank among global majors like Apple and Tesla. But neither are they about to collapse in a heap of governance failures.”
In its Jan 24 report, short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged accounting fraud and stock manipulation by Mr Gautam Adani, triggering a stock rout at the billionaire’s empire, wiping US$127 billion (S$169 billion) off the group’s market value as at Monday. Mr Adani has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Adani Group has a relatively low proportion of freely tradeable shares, which means excessive control by the founders that led to rich valuations, the economists said. It also has one of the lowest liquidity ratios among peers, they added.
Its flagship company, Adani Enterprises, is covered by just two analysts, against an average of 33 for the 50 biggest companies, according to the report. Though the group is highly leveraged compared with peers, its profits are sufficient to cover interest expenses, it said.
The crisis has raised questions about India’s credibility as a global growth engine and a destination for international investors. Earlier in February, MSCI reduced the free float of four companies owned by Adani, while Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook on Adani Green Energy and three other group firms.
“Short-sellers likely won’t be dominating the narrative on India Inc in the years ahead,” said the economists. “With India’s (gross domestic product) once again set to outperform, the country’s firms will have a chance to take another step on the path from national champions to global majors.” BLOOMBERG
