The Adani Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in the world, has never fallen short of investors. Time and again, some of the biggest investors, both globally and in India, have made significant investments in the various proceedings of the Adani Group. This has given Gautam Adani's business an excellent boost. It has also allowed the company to gain sufficient funds for its business operation. Among the Adani Group's top investors is LIC, India's most prominent life insurance company.
The Increase in Investment:
LIC has made significant investments in the Adani Group of companies during the past few years. The company's investments in Adani Group have also witnessed a 59% surge in FY24. This is mainly because of the Group's enhanced business operations in multiple sectors, giving the investors extraordinary profitability. LIC has made significant investments in two of the Adani Group's subsidiaries: Adani Green Energy and Adani Ports and SEZ. Altogether, LIC has investments in 7 of the Adani Group of companies. These investments have witnessed a whopping 70% surge.
Other LIC's investments in the various subsidiaries of the Adani Group have now reached INR 61,657 crore as compared to INR 36,089 crore on 31st March 2023. The investment in Adani Green Energy surged to 114 %, with LIC's investment rising from INR 1,892 crore at the end of FY23 to INR 4,045 crore at present. Likewise, the insurance company's investment in Adani Ports and SEZ also surged to 113% from INR 10,727 crore at the end of FY23 to INR 22,819 crore as of today. This is a reflection of a substantial appreciation in the investment value.
LIC's investment in Adani Enterprises increased from INR 8,495.31 crore at the end of FY23 to INR 14,305.53 crore just a year later. The investments in Adani Green Energy experience maximum rise in value. The value ultimately doubled last year. The investments in Adani Total Gas Limited, Ambuja Cements, and ACC also experienced significant profitability the previous year.
The Setbacks Received:
The insurance company faced a lot of criticisms surrounding its decisions to make significant investments in the Adani Group because of controversies related to account fraud, stock manipulation, and Adani tax evasion by the Hindenburg report. The Adani Group, however, denied any wrongdoing, and the LIC also did not back down from its decision to make significant investments in the business group. Instead, it continued to invest in some of the most prosperous subsidiaries of the global conglomerate.
Because of Adani tax evasion controversies, the Group's stock values suffered a consistent downfall. However, the Adani Group made a remarkable comeback after the Supreme Court denied all charges against the global conglomerate. Because of political pressure, LIC had to strategically reduce its investments in the flagship company of the Adani Group, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and SEZ, only to witness an extraordinary rise in the share values of these two subsidiaries by 83% and 68.4 % respectively.
Although the domestic investors faced continuous pressures from multiple external sources, the overseas investors did not lose any time in seizing the opportunity, and some of the biggest investors globally, like the Abu Dhabi-based IHC Holdings, Qatar Investment Authority, French giant Total Energies, and US-based GQG Partners collectively invested over INR 45,000 crores in Adani Group's stocks. This gave Adani Group's business an extraordinary exposure. It was also able to recover from the losses that it suffered during the Hindenburg crisis. The investments made by the big names also encouraged other investors worldwide to start investing in the Adani Group's projects.
Conclusion:
Just a year after the Hindenburg report surrounding controversies of Adani tax evasion, the Adani Group was able to rebuild its position as one of the leading conglomerates in India. It currently focuses on bringing about a green energy transition in India. The Group also has an excellent presence in some of India's major growth sectors, such as ports, airports, roads, railways, data centres, cement manufacturing, etc. As time passes, the business group will increase its exposure to some of the most crucial business sectors. This will offer the business group enhanced prosperity and lead our country towards economic growth and success.