SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s corporate regulator is reviewing a short-seller report that accused India’s Adani Group of improper use of offshore tax havens and high levels of debt, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.
New York-based short-seller Hindenburg Research last week flagged concerns at Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, triggering a $65 billion rout in the Indian billionaire’s stocks. Adani said the report was a “calculated attack” on India and its institutions, while its CFO compared the market rout to a colonial-era massacre.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
On Tuesday, Adani’s crucial $2.5 billion share sale was fully subscribed as foreign institutional investors and corporate funds flooded in, although participation by retail investors and Adani Enterprises employees remained low.
The conglomerate owns several companies with interests ranging from energy to transportation across the globe, including in Australia, where it operates the Carmichael coal mine and the Abbot Point port, which was renamed North Queensland Export Terminal.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
