Adani loses Asia's richest crown as stock wipeout reaches $86 billion

Shares in Indian tycoon Gautam Adani’s conglomerate plunged again on Wednesday as a rout in his companies deepened to $86 billion in the wake of a US short-seller report, with the billionaire also losing his title as Asia’s richest person.

Wednesday’s stock losses saw Adani slip to 15th on Forbes rich list with an estimated net worth of $75.1 billion, below rival Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd who ranks ninth with a net worth of $83.7 billion.

Before the critical report by US short-seller Hindenburg, Adani had ranked third.

The losses mark a dramatic setback for Adani, the school-dropout-turned-billionaire whose fortunes rose rapidly in recent years in line with stock values of his businesses that include ports, airports, mining, cement and power. Now, the tycoon is fighting to stabilise his companies and defend his reputation.

The share slides come just a day after the Adani Group managed to muster support from investors for a $2.5 billion share sale for flagship firm Adani Enterprises, in what some saw as a stamp of investor confidence at a time of crisis.

The report by Hindenburg Research last week alleged improper use by the group of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.

The group has denied the allegations, saying the short-seller’s narrative of stock manipulation has “no basis” and stems from an ignorance of Indian law. It has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures, it added.

Shares in Adani Enterprises, often described as the incubator of Adani businesses, plunged 28 per cent on Wednesday, bringing its losses since the Hindenburg report to more than $18 billion. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone dropped 19 per cent. Both stocks marked their worst day ever.

“The kind of fall that we are seeing in Adani stocks is scary,” said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Mumbai-based Profitmart Securities.

Adani Power and Adani Wilmar fell 5 per cent each, and Adani Total Gas slumped 10 per cent, with all three falling by their daily price limits. Adani Transmission was down 3 per cent and Adani Green Energy 5.6 per cent.

Adani Total Gas, a joint venture with France’s Total , has been the biggest casualty of the short seller report, losing about $27 billion.

Dollar bonds issued by Adani entities also resumed their slide on Wednesday. The US dollar-denominated bonds of Adani Ports maturing in February 2031 led the losses, falling 3.59 cents to 67.58 cents.

Underscoring the nervousness in some quarters, Bloomberg reported that Credit Suisse had stopped accepting bonds of Adani group companies as collateral for margin loans to its private banking clients.

Deven Choksey, managing director of KRChoksey Shares and Securities, said this was a big factor in Wednesday’s share slides.

Credit Suisse had no immediate comment.

After losing $86 billion in recent days - equivalent to 16 per cent of India’s annual budget spend of $550 billion announced on Wednesday - the seven listed Adani Group entities now have a combined market capitalisation of about $131 billion.

Hindenburg said in its report it had shorted US-bonds and non-India traded derivatives of the Adani Group.