Corporate Behaviour and Free Speech

 Supreme Court नहीं पहुँची Adani की SEBI Report News Nasha 
14 Aug 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsFucvBlN0k

SEBI seeks more time on Adani-Hindenburg report: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/sebi-adani-hindenburg-report-case-timeline-8892362/  The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking 15 more days to conclude its inquiry in the Adani-Hindenburg case. The regulator has said it has “substantially progressed” in its investigations. 

https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/sebi-report-on-adani-group-market-regulator-seeks-15-more-days-from-sc/articleshow/102717140.cms   This is the second extension that the markets regulator has sought from the apex court. Sebi is awaiting information it has sought from foreign entities, regulators and agencies.

The Supreme Court appointed 6-member panel has found no wrongdoing by the Adani Group..... The three key areas the SC appointed committee was looking into were: 1) Violation of Minimum Public Shareholding norms, 2) Disclosure of transactions with related parties in accordance with the law and 3) Stock price manipulation. The report says that prima facie there is no violation of existing laws or market regulations. .. A violation of MPS norms would have been proven if the ultimate beneficiary of these 13 foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) could be in any way traced back to the promoters of Adani Group..

Don’t Invest Public Money in high risk Adani Coal to PVC Plant https://forms.gle/2wmceUSkmecKF1QY7
On June 20, it was reported that Adani Enterprises had secured an in-principle agreement from a SBI led consortium of banks to fund its proposed Coal to PVC plant in Mundra. Such an investment of public money in a company whose financial viability has been deemed suspect is a violation of the trust that crores of people have reposed in these public sector banks

 At a time when Adani Enterprises is overleveraged and is under an ongoing investigation, the reported attempt by public sector banks to raise ₹ 14,500 crore and the remainder by private banks, is a severe undermining of public trust in custodians of public money. According to an assessment carried out last year by CreditSights, a credit assessment unit of the Fitch Group, which points to the group's high indebtedness, over-leveraged operations and debt-driven expansion into highly capital intensive projects in a wide range of new sectors. According to this report, “excessive debt and over-leveraging by the group could have a cascading negative effect on the credit quality of the bond issuing entities within the group and heightens contagion risk in case any entity falls into distress”.

It is important to note that coal based projects became the principal line item in India’s terrifying bad loans problem, contributing to more than ₹ 1.74 lakh crores in NPAs. This Coal to PVC project has the potential to join the long list.

The coal-based manufacturing of PVC is highly environmentally damaging, emitting three times more greenhouse gases than conventional plastic production, exacerbating both the plastic waste and climate crisis. The coal to PVC plant in question, with numerous flue gas and process vent stacks, releases harmful particulate matter leading to various health problems, including respiratory issues and heart diseases.

Why Has the Adani-Hindenburg Issue Become a Matter of National Concern? Arun Kumar https://thewire.in/business/why-has-the-adani-hindenburg-issue-become-a-matter-of-national-concern The corporate members of the expert committee could have exposed much more of the wrongdoings but they have chosen to be formalistic. So, an opportunity to expose and clean up corporate manipulations has been missed.

Though his companies are public, the Indian public shareholding in his companies has been small. So, the Indian public has hardly benefitted from the rapidly growing pie. Even Indian mutual funds’ investment in his companies is small. The debt compared to equity was quite large and has been flagged by financial experts. A high ratio of debt to equity increases the riskiness of the shares. If profits earned are taken as a yardstick of performance, they were low compared to the price of the shares. This is referred to as the price-earning ratio (P/E).

Three important questions arise: first, how did Adani get hold of so many businesses so quickly? Second, how did the valuation of the shares of the Adani Group rise so rapidly? Third, why did the undue rise in the share prices not raise suspicions among the regulatory agencies – SEBI, the Enforcement Directorate, income tax department, etc.? Did political connections coupled with a lack of action, or investigation by the regulators help Adani acquire assets, possibly at low prices?