Could Indian billionaire Adani’s crisis benefit China?

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has had a tumultuous journey in the past few days. While Adani himself has lost $48 billion of his personal wealth, dropping to the 16th position – from third less than two weeks ago – on Forbes real-time billionaires list, the group’s companies have seen over $100 billion wiped off their market value.

It all follows a damning report from a tiny New York investment firm. Hindenburg Research, just a day before shares of Adani Enterprises were due to go on sale on 25 January, dropped a powerful bomb in the form of a scathing report, accusing the conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud.

While the group has denied the allegations, the 413-page report it has published in response has so far failed to stem the uproar. Hindenburg Research, whose previous targets include EV makers like Nikola and Lordstown Motors, stands by its report.

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The issue has also promoted a political row in the country. Opposition parties are asking for a probe into the US firm’s allegations, while demanding a discussion in the parliament regarding the risk to Indian investors.

The major scandal engulfing Adani is clouding over India just as China reopens its borders and aims to bolster its economy after three years of stringent Covid isolation. The restrictions imposed in China had helped India, with this shift adding additional optimism to Indian equities, which were the top performers in Asia last year.

While India’s Sensex and Nifty 50 indices have surpassed their 2019 levels, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite have seen relatively limited gains. Nevertheless, the latter measures have recovered somewhat this year after China declared reopening, and they could gain greater value from Adani’s troubles.