Adani CFO calls some regulator notices group received 'trivial' (updated)

SGH

25/06/2024 12:42

* 
      Group firms said last month they had received notices from
regulator
    

        * 
      Adani Enterprises said notices had no "material
consequential
effect"
    

        * 
      Group raising spending in fiscal 2025 by 85% to 1.3 trln
rupees
    

        * 
      Targeting expected boom in infrastructure development in
India
    

  
 (Recasts throughout with CFO comments on regulatory notices)
    By Sumit Khanna and Chris Thomas
       AHMEDABAD, India, June 25 - The finance chief of the
Adani Group conglomerate on Tuesday deemed some of the Indian
market regulator notices received by group firms citing alleged
regulatory lapses as "trivial" in nature.
    Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the group has faced
regulatory challenges in India since a report by short seller
Hindenburg Research in January 2023. It accused group firms of
improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation which sparked
a $150 billion meltdown in the market value of group firms.
    The Adani Group denied any wrongdoing.
    Then last month, flagship firm Adani Enterprises  ADEL.NS 
and other group companies disclosed they had received notices
from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) about
alleged violations including non-compliance with certain
provisions for listed companies.
    "Some (notices) are trivial," Chief Financial Officer
Jugeshinder Singh told a media briefing in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
    He referred to one such query he himself received relating
to his share trading history in relation to the time that GQG
Partners invested in the group last year.
    "I don't even have a demat account. They were very surprised
to find out that I don't have a demat account," he said, 
referring to a trading account.
    "So that ends there. So they were these kinds of procedural
things. They have to do something, they couldn't find anything."
    GQG and SEBI did not respond to Reuters' requests for
immediate comment.
    Adani since the Hindenburg report has attracted investment
from investors including GQG and Abu Dhabi conglomerate
International Holding  IHC.AD .
    Group companies said the notices they received were related
to disclosure rules and related party transactions, but they
have not provided detail regarding the alleged violations or the
parties involved.
    Adani Enterprises said the notices had no "material
consequential effect" for relevant financial statements and
there was "no material non-compliance of applicable laws and
regulations".
    
    INFRASTRUCTURE
    Also on Tuesday, Singh said the group would increase
spending in fiscal year 2025 by 85%, to 1.3 trillion rupees
($15.6 billion), as it prepares to capitalise on an expected
boom in infrastructure development.
    Adani Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of the group,
will spend 340 billion rupees to add 6 gigawatts of capacity,
Singh told reporters.
    Adani is also aiming to nearly double its cement making
capacity to 140 million tons (MT) capacity by 2028 from 79 MT,
he said.
    On Monday, the owner of Adani Group told investors it is
"well positioned" to capitalise on opportunities in India's
booming infrastructure sector.

 (Additional reporting by Nandan Mandayam, Aditya Kalra; editing
by Jason Neely)
 ((chris.thomas@thomsonreuters.com;))