| December 1, 2024 | IANS - Jaipur |
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said on Saturday that the set of allegations being levelled against the conglomerate in the US was another attack on the group from which it would emerge stronger and more resilient.
Addressing the 51st Indian Gems and Jewellery Award function, the Adani Group Chairman referred to the "set of allegations from the US about compliance practices at Adani Green Energy" as one of the three attacks that had taken place against the Adani Group recently.
"This is not the first time we have faced such challenges. What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger and every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group," he said.
"The fact is that despite a lot of the vested reporting, no one from the Adani side has been charged with any violation of the FCPA or any conspiracy to obstruct justice. Yet, in today’s world, negativity spreads faster than facts - and as we work through the legal process, I want to re-confirm our absolute commitment to world-class regulatory compliance," Gautam Adani contended.
Listing the other two attacks, he said: "First - in 2010, when we were investing in a coal mine in Australia, our objective was clear: How to make India energy secure – and replace every two tons of poor-quality Indian coal with one ton of high-quality coal from Australia? However, the resistance from NGOs was huge and lasted almost a decade."
He said the opposition was so intense that the group ended up funding the entire project of $10 billion with its own equity.
"While we now have a world-class operating mine in Australia and it could be seen as a great sign of our resilience, the fact is that 100 per cent equity funding took away over $30 billion of debt financing from our green energy projects," Gautam Adani said.
"The next example is from January last year, just as we were getting ready to launch our Follow-on Public Offering. We faced a short-selling attack initiated from abroad. This was not a typical financial strike; it was a double hit - targeting our financial stability and pulling us into a political controversy. All of this was further amplified by certain media with vested interests. But even in the face of such adversity, our commitment to our principles remained strong," the Adani Group chief pointed out.
He said that after successfully raising Rs 20,000 crore from India’s largest-ever FPO, the group made the extraordinary decision to return the proceeds.
"We then further demonstrated our resilience by raising capital from several international sources and proactively reducing our Debt to EBITDA ratio to below 2.5 times, an unmatched metric in the global infrastructure space," he said.
Gautam Adani further stated that the all-time record financial results of the group in the same year showcased its commitment to operational excellence. Not a single Indian or foreign credit rating agency downgraded the Adani Group and finally, the Supreme Court’s "affirmation of our actions validated our approach", he added.
He also said that over the years, he had come to accept that the roadblocks have to be faced as the price of pioneering.
"The more bold your dreams, the more the world will scrutinize you. But it is precisely in that scrutiny that you must find the courage to rise, to challenge the status quo, and to build a path where none exists. To pioneer is to embrace the unknown, to break limits, and to believe in your vision even when the world cannot yet see it," Gautam Adani asserted.
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