- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the withdrawal of FPO from Adani Enterprises will not affect the perception of India.
- On Wednesday, Adani Enterprises decided not to proceed with its fully underwritten Rs 20,000-crore FPO.
- Group chairman
Gautama Adani said it would not be “morally correct” to continue in the current market conditions.
Mumbai (Maharashtra)[India]Feb 4 (ANI): Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that regulators independent from the government will do their job and that a withdrawal of the FPO withdrawal will not have any impact on India’s perception.
“Regulators are independent from the government and are left to themselves to do what is appropriate so that the market is properly regulated,” the finance minister said during a speech following the 2023-24 budget conference in Mumbai on Saturday.
“This is not the first time that some FPO (follow-on public offering) has been taken back. How many times has that tarnished the country’s image?”
On Wednesday, Adani Enterprises decided not to proceed with its fully underwritten Follow-on Public Offer (FPO), with group chairman Gautam Adani stating on Thursday that it would not be “morally correct” to proceed with the Rs 20,000-crore share in the current market conditions. A report from the New York-based short seller on January 24 had accused the Adani Group of, among other things, brutal stock manipulation and accounting fraud.
The US-based company expressed concern in its report that shares of Adani group companies could fall from their current levels due to high valuations. In response, Adani Group said Hindenburg’s report was not an attack on a specific company, but a “calculated attack” on India, its growth story and ambitions. It added that the report was “nothing but a lie”.
In his rebuttal, Hinderburg Adani has “fueled a nationalistic narrative” that attempts to conflate the “metrise and wealth of its chairman, Gautam Adani, with the success of India itself”.
Speaking at today’s press conference in Mumbai asking a question about the exposure of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to the Adani Group, the Union Minister said, “LIC themselves have come up on the issue about their exposure to the enterprise (Adani).”
The finance minister said the government wants to continue the recovery that has kept India at a good level of growth.
“We want to continue the recovery that has kept India at a good level of growth, which no country – except one because it is rich in fuel – has managed to achieve,” she said.
Sitharaman added: “…and the credit goes to the people of India for somehow absorbing all the little aid that the government has come up with, either in the form of aid or a policy between 2022 and Today.” She added that this recovery momentum should not be lost.
The minister added, “It was an express wish of the Prime Minister that capital expenditures should be maintained and so they have reached Rs 10 lakh crore.”
On the purpose of her visit to the financial capital, the Union finance minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stressed that it would be good if the finance ministry crosses the country and explains the idea behind the budget.
“For the last three to four years we have started a process where we go to places after the budget to discuss the budget with stakeholders. Take their suggestions etc and incorporate those suggestions into the amendments to the budget. This was the first such outreach in Mumbai after this budget,” said the finance minister. (ANI)