ATGL

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Refiles to fix extra spacing in fifth paragraph.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Sept 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is catching a moment of relief. India's securities regulator cleared the tycoon and units of his $152 billion infrastructure conglomerate of stock manipulation charges raised by a short seller in 2023. However, its fortunes won't improve much so long as U.S. charges hang over the group.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Thursday said the transactions involving Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS, Adani Ports APSE.NS and Adani Power ADAN.NS between 2018 and 2023 flagged by Nathan Anderson's now-disbanded firm Hindenburg Research did not violate the rules at the time on related party transactions.

The order closes the loop on a more than two-year-old saga marked by a $150 billion reduction in Adani group companies' market value and muddled by allegations of conflict of interest against former SEBI Chair Madhabi Puri Buch, who left her role in February.

The clean bill of health from the watchdog now led by Tuhin Kanta Pandey hardly changes the group's local standing. Indian mutual funds managing some $850 billion in assets were wary of what they see as the group's opacity and its rapid growth before Hindenburg struck, and remain so: Adani Enterprises stock is about 30% lower than at the start of 2023.

A more potent overhang is the U.S. Justice Department's indictment of the tycoon in a $265 million Indian bribery scheme. The Adani group denies any wrongdoing but the charges have complicated the conglomerate's fundraising prospects. Though BlackRock BLK.N subscribed to bonds an Adani unit issued in April to finance an acquisition, that borrowing came at an increased cost than its past deals.

Non-U.S. banks including Barclays BARC.L and DBS DBSM.SI lent $250 million to Adani's airport and ports units last month, Bloomberg reported citing unnamed people familiar with the transactions. But the U.S. issue stalled Adani's efforts to cut its dependence on Indian banks, which hold 47% of its 2.9 trillion rupees ($32.8 billion) debt. The group has returned to equity markets but only for carefully controlled issuances to institutional investors, not the public.

If anything, its stateside problems are widening. A subsidiary of Adani Enterprises has been named among 43 Indian exporters in a U.S. complaint over dumping of solar exports, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters Breakingviews. Similar investigations into Southeast Asian companies have attracted prohibitively high tariffs.

The resumption of trade talks this week between India and the U.S. may smooth the path for Adani to eventually draw a line under the Justice Department's probe, perhaps through a settlement. Until then, its other victories are superficial.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on September 18 dismissed allegations of stock manipulation against billionaire Gautam Adani and his group of companies made by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research.

The capital markets regulator began investigating the group's flagship Adani Enterprises and its ports and energy units in 2023 after Hindenburg accused them of using tax havens and failing to disclose transactions between related parties. SEBI officials said in the order that the transactions under review, which were carried out between 2018 and 2023, did not qualify as related party transactions under the rules at the time.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

July 28 (Reuters) - Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS:

• Q1 CONSOL NET PROFIT 1.65 BILLION RUPEES

• Q1 CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 14.98 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE2VfpzR

Further company coverage: ADAG.NS

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

By Hudson Lockett

HONG KONG, July 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Leave it to an online bazaar to sell a creative financial swap. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba 9988.HK just raised $1.5 billion with a zero-coupon bond that can be exchanged for shares in its healthcare subsidiary if the unit’s stock price rises 35% from its pre-announcement close. Other Asian conglomerates will be keen to get in on the market.

Alibaba Health Information Technology 0241.HK, a $9.5 billion digital platform selling pharmaceuticals and medication tracking, has not paid off for investors. Its total return over the past five years has been negative 76%. Despite the terrible performance, its $260 billion parent company found a way to wring some value out of the business.

It’s a clever twist on a popular hedge fund plaything. Convertible bonds, where a company’s borrowing transforms into equity, have been booming worldwide. In Hong Kong, this year’s issuance of some $12 billion exceeds the 2024 tally by 70%, per Dealogic. Some of it includes exchangeable debt like Alibaba’s.

The twist is canny. Alibaba’s investment-grade credit rating provides some downside protection. At the same time, Alibaba Health’s shares, whose price has swung wildly from up 80% at one point this year to less than 30% now, dangle tempting upside from any fresh rally.

As a deal denominated in Hong Kong dollars, it’s also a timely beneficiary of the city's rock-bottom interest rates. The upshot is cheap funding for Alibaba’s artificial intelligence initiatives. Boss Eddie Wu recently unveiled new investments in Thailand, Mexico and South Korea as the company seeks to spend at least $53 billion on machine learning and cloud computing infrastructure by 2028.

Alibaba also structured the bond, due in seven years, so it has the power to keep control of the healthcare division. If the price reaches the designated threshold, the payout can be in shares, cash or a mix to ensure the parent’s stake stays well above 50%.

Hedge funds often seek out volatility and option value for their portfolios, implying that the continent’s other corporate labyrinths could make similar use of exchangeable bonds. IndianOil IOS.NS-Adani Gas ADAG.NS is already lining one up, according to Bloomberg. Alibaba tech rival Tencent 0700.HK seems like another potential candidate. Just as with e-commerce, there’s always something curiously tempting in the financial marketplace.

Follow Hudson Lockett on Bluesky and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Alibaba raised HK$12 billion ($1.5 billion) on July 4 from the sale of a zero-coupon exchangeable bond due 2032, which can be swapped for shares in listed subsidiary Alibaba Health Information Technology if its stock price rises 35%.

The deal caps more than $6 billion of exchangeable deals in Asia during the first half of 2025 and comes amid a surge of equity-linked debt issuance in Hong Kong of more than $12 billion this year, per Dealogic.

(Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on LOCKETT/ [email protected]))

June 25 (Reuters) - Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS:

• ADANI TOTAL GAS LIMITED AND JIO-BP PARTNER TO ENHANCE QUALITY FUEL OFFERINGS

• AND JIO-BP SIGN AGREEMENT TO ENHANCE FUEL RETAIL

• BOTH PARTNERS TO OFFER EACH OTHER'S FUELS ACROSS SELECT OUTLETS

• ATGL OUTLETS TO OFFER JIO-BP LIQUID FUELS

Source text: ID:nBSE4G0lbl

Further company coverage: ADAG.NS

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June 23 (Reuters) - Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS:

• NSE: TO EXCLUDE F&O CONTRACTS ON 8 SECURITIES INCLUDING ADANI TOTAL GAS, JINDAL STAINLESS FROM AUG 29 ON EXPIRY OF EXISTING CONTRACTS

Source text: [https://tinyurl.com/5hdtsnv6]

Further company coverage: ADAG.NS

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Changes date; Adds Adani Green's response in paragraph 6, updates stock moves in paragraph 9

May 5 (Reuters) - Representatives for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani met officials from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to seek dismissal of criminal charges in an overseas bribery probe, with a resolution possible in a month, Bloomberg News reported.

In November, U.S. authorities indicted Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, alleging they paid bribes to secure power supply contracts, and misled U.S. investors during fund raises there.

The U.S. financial regulator summoned the duo, alleging they misled investors on compliance during a $750 million Adani Green ADNA.NS bond sale in the United States.

The billionaire's aides are trying to make the case that his prosecution does not align with Trump's priorities and should be reconsidered, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The discussions began earlier this year and have picked up in recent weeks, with a resolution possible within a month if the momentum continues, the report said.

Adani Green, in a statement on Monday, reiterated it was not part of any proceedings, but it did not directly comment on the report about the meetings. It had recently said its review of the indictment found no non-compliance or irregularities.

The Justice Department and White House declined comment to Bloomberg on the report and did not respond to Reuters for comment outside business hours.

Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship firm, also did not respond to a request for comment. The group has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Shares of Adani Group's nine Indian listed companies rose between 1.7% and 10.5% on Monday, amid a 0.6% increase in the broader market.

The indictment has erased about $13 billion in market value from Adani Group's nine listed firms.

(Reporting by Bipasha Dey, Nandan Mandayam and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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April 28 (Reuters) - India's Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS, reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, as a fall in allocated supply from the government led to higher gas purchase costs.

The company, a joint venture of Adani Group and French oil major TotalEnergies SE TTEF.PA, said its consolidated net profit fell about 8% to 1.55 billion rupees ($18.23 million) in the three months ended March 31.

The Indian government had cut cheaper gas supplies to city gas distributors like Adani Total Gas, citing lower output by producers in the country.

The allocation improved in January, the company had mentioned in its December earnings report. However, that remained lower on a year-on-year basis.

Adani Total Gas' natural gas costs rose 28%, leading to a 21% surge in its total expenses to 12.64 billion rupees.

However, demand for compressed natural gas (CNG) - which is Adani Total's biggest segment - remained higher due to the government's push to make cleaner-burning energy more accessible and cut vehicular pollution.

Its CNG volumes, which account for more-than-half of its total sales, grew 18% in the latest quarter, boosted by the addition of 42 new stations, across the country, on a standalone basis. The company currently operates 647 CNG stations.

Sales volume in its other vertical, piped natural gas (PNG), rose 5% to 87 million standard cubic meters of gas per day.

Its overall revenue from operations increased to 14.53 billion rupees from 12.58 billion rupees a year ago.

($1 = 85.0200 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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By Sethuraman N R

NEW DELHI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's Adani Total has yet to conduct feasibility studies to double the capacity of its LNG terminal in Dhamra, Chief Executive Surjeet Singh Lamba told Reuters on Thursday, a year after the joint venture announced it was in the early stages of planning a possible expansion.

Lamba said the 5 million tons per annum (mtpa) LNG terminal on India's east coast, in which French energy giant TotalEnergies SE TTEF.PA has a 50% stake alongside the Adani Group, operated at an average utilisation rate of 25% in 2024.

Utilisation has since risen to about 50%, the CEO said. Usage has been low because the terminal has been unable to attract new customers after locking state-run firms Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, and GAIL (India) Ltd GAIL.NS into 20-year take-or-pay contracts in 2023.

Lamba said the expansion was contingent on demand, and when asked about the potential for growth in LNG demand, he pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target to more than double the share of natural gas to 15% of India's energy mix by 2030.

"It depends upon the requirement of the users, as in, when we get some business potential," he said.

"Once feasibilty (study) is done, only then we will be able to comment on that (expansion)," Lamba told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week.

He did not comment on any financing plans.

TotalEnergies said last year it would pause investing in the Adani Group after U.S. prosecutors accused officials from the conglomerate, including its billionaire Chairman Gautam Adani, of corruption.

(Writing by Sudarshan Varadhan;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS:

• ADANI TOTAL GAS- INCREASE IN APM ALLOCATION OF NATURAL GAS TO HAVE POSITIVE IMPACT FOR Q4

Source text: ID:nBSE6sx2xh

Further company coverage: ADAG.NS

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS:

• ADANI TOTAL GAS LTD - ALLOCATION OF APM GAS HAS BEEN REVISED UPWARDS BY 20%

• ADANI TOTAL GAS LTD - APM GAS ALLOCATION REVISED UPWARDS BY 20% EFFECTIVE JAN 16, 2025

Source text: ID:nBSE3KgJrD

Further company coverage: ADAG.NS

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Recasts, adds detail on Rajasthan event, background on U.S. indictments

Dec 9 (Reuters) - India's Adani Group will invest over 7.5 trillion rupees ($88.5 billion) in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, a top executive said on Monday, marking the group's first major investment since the U.S. indictment of its billionaire founder.

The announcement, at an event in Jaipur city attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comes less than a month after U.S. authorities accused founder Gautam Adani and some top executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes worth $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts.

The group has called the charges "baseless".

The indictment has sparked political wrangling in India as many opposition parties accuse Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of favouring Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, allegations both have denied.

Modi's BJP has said it had no reason to defend Adani and that the law will take its course.

The allegations have raised concerns among some partners and investors of the group, with at least one Indian state reviewing its power deal with Adani, and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA halting further investments in the conglomerate.

However, Adani's finance chief said last month that the group's investment plans remained on track.

The latest investments - valued at more than half of the group's $159 billion valuation - will be made in sectors including renewable energy, cement and logistics, said Karan Adani, managing director of Adani Ports APSE.NS.

Over 50% of the investments will be made over the next five years, Adani added.

Adani plans to set up four new cement plants to build additional capacity of six million metric tons per annum.

The group also plans to build the world's biggest integrated green energy ecosystem involving 100 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy, two million tonnes of hydrogen and 1.8 GW of pumped hydro storage, Adani added.

The group's clean energy arm Adani Green ADNA.NS is already building an energy park in the western state of Gujarat with a production capacity of 50 GW by 2030.

($1 = 84.7200 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR. Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mark Potter)

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Dec 3 (Reuters) - Several entities linked to the Adani Group have approached the India markets regulator to seek a settlement in a case that accuses them of violating public shareholding regulations through improper practices at four of the conglomerate's listed companies, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters inquiry, seeking comments.

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Both houses of Indian parliament were suspended on Monday after disruptions by opposition groups demanding a discussion on bribery allegations against the Adani Group and communal tensions in a northern town.

Parliament was similarly adjourned for all of last week as opposition parties, led by the main opposition Congress, demanded a discussion on the indictment of Adani chair Gautam Adani by U.S. authorities.

(Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh)

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NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The lower house of India's parliament was suspended temporarily on Friday for a fourth day in a row this week following disruptions as opposition lawmakers sought a discussion on the allegations against Adani Group.

U.S. authorities last week accused Group Chairman Gautam Adani and seven others from the company of being part of a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials, and of misleading U.S. investors while raising funds there.

The ports-to-power conglomerate has termed the allegations "baseless" and said it would seek "all possible legal recourse".

(Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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Updates share price, Indian parliament, background; paragraphs 4,7, 11-12

Nov 28 (Reuters) - International Holding Co's (IHC) IHC.AD outlook on investments in India's Adani Group remains unchanged, the Abu Dhabi conglomerate said following the U.S. indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani, while the company's shares rose strongly for a second day on Thursday.

"Our partnership with the Adani Group reflects our confidence in their contributions to the green energy and sustainability sectors," IHC, one of the Indian business group's key foreign investors, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"As with all our investments, our team continues to evaluate relevant information and developments. At this time, our outlook on these investments remains unchanged."

Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS shares rose 10% on Thursday, hitting the cap set on gains in the stock in a single session for the second consecutive day.

Adani Energy Solutions ADAI.NS was also up the maximum 10% while Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS, which has a cap of 20%, gained about 15%.

The Adani group's stock losses have narrowed to $12.5 billion from about $34 billion, the low reached on Tuesday, following the U.S. indictments levelled last week.

Both houses of India's parliament were suspended temporarily within minutes of opening on Thursday as opposition lawmakers disrupted proceedings for the third day this week demanding a discussion on the allegations against the Adani Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in the country.

Last week, U.S. authorities accused Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and the managing director of Adani Green ADNA.NS, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts.

Five other Adani associates were charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. anti-bribery law, and four were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.

The ports-to-power conglomerate denied the charges as "baseless" and vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse".

The government has not commented on the allegations against the group.

Many of India's opposition parties accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party of favouring Gautam Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, charges both have denied.

REPERCUSSIONS MOUNT

In October last year, IHC boosted its stake in Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS to more than 5% after it sold down its investments in two other Adani companies. At the time, IHC said Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship company, was "uniquely poised to capitalise on India's robust growth journey".

The increased investment came after short seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate in January last year of stock manipulation and significantly high debt levels. Adani Group denied those allegations.

Adani Green, the company at the centre of the indictment, said on Wednesday Gautam Adani had been charged in the United States for alleged violations of securities law and faced potential fines but had not been charged under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green said a complaint by U.S. regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sought "an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties (but) it does not quantify the amount of penalty".

The civil action launched by the SEC runs in parallel to U.S. federal prosecutors' indictment against Adani and others.

Repercussions from the U.S. indictments are starting to mount for the Adani Group with ratings agencies cutting some ratings and placing some of the company's bonds on a negative outlook.

French oil major TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, said on Monday it would not make any more investments in the Adani Group until there was clarity over the allegations and consequences. Total has a 20% stake in Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS and the Adani firm said there were no discussions on new investments underway.

Kenya has scrapped a $2 billion procurement project that was to give Adani control of the country's main airport and it shelved a 30-year, $736-million public-private partnership, signed by Adani Energy Solutions ADAI.NS, with its energy ministry in October.

Bangladesh is investigating power generation contracts signed under the previous prime minister, one of which was with Adani Power.

Sri Lanka said it would investigate all of the Adani-related projects in the island nation.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai, Chris Thomas in Bangalore, Shilpa Jamkhandikar in Mumbai and Nigam Prusty in New Delhi; Writing by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Y.P. Rajesh, Sumeet Chatterjee, Clarence Fernandez and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Rewrites to focus on renewable targets, adding CEO quotes, detail on joint projects, value of TotalEnergies stakes, context

By Ron Bousso, Marwa Rashad and America Hernandez

LONDON/PARIS, Nov 26 - TotalEnergies TTEF.PA can still meet its renewable energy targets without developing any new business with India's Adani Green Energy Limited, the French group's CEO told Reuters, shrugging off the impact of a crisis at its Indian partner.

Patrick Pouyanne's comments on the sidelines of an energy conference come after the United States indicted Adani Green Energy's chairman, executive director, former CEO, and five others over an alleged $265 million bribery scheme.

TotalEnergies said on Monday it would pause financial contributions to its Adani Group investments until there was more clarity over the case.

The French group is one of a few oil majors continuing to expand in renewable energy, and the rapidly growing Indian solar market has made up a significant share of its expansion to date.

TotalEnergies and Adani Green Energy have 3.8 gigawatts (GW) of jointly held wind and solar projects under construction or in development - which TotalEnergies has already paid into, and which are expected to continue.

"We didn't say we will exit: we will not put new financing in any new scheme," Pouyanne said on the sidelines of the Energy Intelligence Forum on Tuesday.

TotalEnergies has paid a total of $3.24 billion for its 19.75% stake in Adani Green Energy and three renewable joint ventures.

Unfinished projects with Adani are included in TotalEnergies' current green growth targets to add 11 GW of new renewables by the end of next year and reach 100 GW of gross installed capacity by 2030, up from 24 GW currently.

TotalEnergies has relied heavily on buying Indian wind and solar assets to quickly grow its green portfolio, overtaking European oil and gas peers. Adani-linked stakes account for nearly 25% of its currently operating renewable assets.

Pouyanne said the pause on future projects with Adani did not jeopardise TotalEnergies' ability to continue that growth.

"We have other options in our portfolio," said the CEO.

Excluding India, TotalEnergies has 5.6 GW of renewables under construction globally and 53.6 GW under development, mostly in North America and Europe, according to company statements.

The firm, which has a seat on Adani Green Energy's board, said on Monday it had not been aware of the U.S. investigation before last week's indictment, and that TotalEnergies legally purchased the solar stakes after performing due diligence.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Marwa Rashad in London, America Hernandez in Paris, Sethuraman N R in Bengaluru. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)

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Ambuja Cements Ltd ABUJ.NS:

• SRI LANKA'S FINANCE MINISTRY AND FOREIGN MINISTRY STUDYING ADANI ALLEGATIONS - CABINET SPOKESPERSON

• SRI LANKA TAKING CONCERNS SERIOUSLY, WILL CONSIDER ALL ASPECTS OF ADANI PROJECTS BUT NO FINAL DECISION MADE YET - CABINET SPOKESPERSON

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: ABUJ.NS

Updates with moves by Bangladesh and US government bodies, CFO statement

BENGALURU, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by U.S. prosecutors for his alleged role in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials, sending shockwaves across his eponymous ports-to-soybeans business conglomerate.

Here is what you need to know about the U.S. indictment.

THE MAJOR U.S. INDICTMENT

Gautam Adani, one of world's richest people, faces his biggest challenge after being charged with seven others for alleged bribery related to power supply deals from energy projects in India, with U.S. authorities calling it "The Corrupt Solar Project".

Adani Group, which runs several key infrastructure projects across the globe, says the allegations are baseless and has vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse".

The group's CFO has said the indictment is linked to one Adani Green Energy contract that makes up some 10% of the unit's business.

There is also a growing spotlight on Sagar Adani, a millennial scion of the company who kept track of hundreds of millions of dollars of alleged bribes to Indian officials, in notes the prosecutors described as "bribe notes".

The alleged bribes caught the attention of U.S. authorities when Adani's companies were raising funds from U.S.-based investors in transactions starting in 2021.

DISCLOSURE ISSUES, STOCK ROUT AND FALLOUT

The scandal has also raised concerns about market and public disclosure lapses by Adani Group, with prosecutors alleging the company issued false statements earlier this year related to its knowledge of the U.S. investigation.

The U.S. indictment has kept Adani Group's debt and equity under pressure. Its dollar bond prices have fallen to almost a one-year low.

The indictment appears to now have ramifications across the globe, including news that some bankers are considering pausing fresh lending to the group.

Kenya has ordered the cancellation of Adani infrastructure deals worth over $2.5 billion and a U.S. development agency is 'assessing ramifications' on a Sri Lanka Adani port project it had agreed to finance. In Bangladesh, a government panel has sought legal help for its investigation of power deals including one with Adani.

Back in India, opposition parties have demanded a probe into allegations of wrongdoing and said they would raise the issue in parliament.

WHAT NEXT FOR ADANI, LEGAL OPTIONS

A key question is what is next for Gautam Adani? He is charged with foreign bribery, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.

Adani has not been arrested and his whereabouts are unknown, though he is believed to be in India.

A trial could still be a long way off, even if Adani is extradited or surrenders in the U.S.

If convicted, Adani could face decades in prison as well as monetary penalties, though any sentence would ultimately be up to the judge overseeing the case.

For now, Adani has to answer U.S. SEC allegations within 21 days, a court directive states.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Kalra, Sonali Paul and Toby Chopra)

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By Siddhi Nayak and Bharath Rajeswaran

MUMBAI/BENGALURU, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Indian banks' loan exposure to the embattled Adani Group seems "manageable" and any credit risk in the aftermath of its billionaire founder-chairman's indictment in the United States looks "contained," JPMorgan said on Friday.

U.S. prosecutors have charged Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, and seven other people with paying $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials for contracts, including to develop the country's largest solar power plant.

Adani Group has said the accusations are "baseless" and that it will seek "all possible legal recourse".

Shares of Indian state-owned banks fell 2.7% on Thursday over worries about the extent of their exposure to the ports-to-power conglomerate that spans about 10 listed companies in all.

However, JPMorgan analysts said Indian banks' exposure to the group was around 0.3% of outstanding loans as of March and that the loans were backed by asset cover.

"We don't see major credit risk as the underlying companies are not implicated," the Wall Street brokerage said in a note.

Moreover, Indian banks' exposure to Adani Green ADNA.NS, which is at the centre of the allegations, is "materially lower" at just six basis points of banking system credit as of September, JPMorgan said.

"We do not see any systemic risk to Indian financials from a potential credit event in Adani Green, given the low exposure, asset cover, improving operating performance of the broader Adani Group and the capital and standard asset buffers at banks," the investment bank said.

While credit risk to banks may be contained, sources told Reuters that global and local banks may now limit fresh funding.

Four local bankers that Reuters spoke to said they would take a wait-and-watch approach and that any fresh funds would likely be at higher interest rates due to the increased risks.

"Loan pricing is expected to go up, but we will wait and watch for at least 3-4 months before we initiate any fresh funding request," said an official at a private lender that has exposure to the Adani group.

The lender's internal assessment shows the Adani group has the ability to repay loans and their cash flows remain strong, the banker said, asking not to be identified as he is not authorised to speak with the media.

Shares of Indian state-owned banks rebounded on Friday.

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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Updates with statement from Azure Power in paragraphs 10-11

By Kashish Tandon and Hritam Mukherjee

Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have charged Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, founder of a conglomerate named after him, and seven others in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme related to a renewable energy project in India.

The authorities said Adani and the other defendants agreed to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian officials to obtain contracts. The Adani Group denied the charges as baseless and that it would seek "all possible legal recourse".

Here are key details of the people charged by the U.S. authorities:

** Gautam Adani, 62, is Asia's wealthiest person after countryman Mukesh Ambani with a net worth of $57.8 billion, according to Forbes. He set up the Adani Group in 1988, beginning with commodities trading.

He and his nephew Sagar are accused of orchestrating the scheme to secure a solar energy project in India and misleading the company's investors during a $750 million bond offering, which raised about $175 million from U.S. investors.

** Sagar Adani is credited with building the solar and wind portfolio of Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS and currently oversees its "organization building as well as all strategic and financial matters", according to its website. He is an executive director of Adani Green.

** Vneet Jaain has been the managing director of Adani Green Energy since 2020. Before that, he headed other Adani group firms such as Adani Power ADAN.NS and Adani Infrastructure, according to his LinkedIn profile.

** Ranjit Gupta, between 2019 and 2022, was the chief executive officer of energy firm Azure Power Global, whose stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange until November 2023.

U.S. authorities allege that Gupta conspired with Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain to pay bribes to Indian government officials for Adani Green and Azure Power to secure a solar energy project in India.

Azure Power told Reuters in an emailed statement that it was "aware of the actions" announced by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities & Exchange Commission against its former employees.

"We have been cooperating with those agencies in relation to those and other matters and we will continue to do so," the firm said.

Gupta, currently CEO of energy firm Ocior Energy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ocior Energy did not immediately respond to a separate Reuters request for comment.

** Cyril Cabanes, who U.S. court documents said was a citizen of Australia and France who resided in Singapore, was the managing director of infrastructure overseeing Asia Pacific and Middle East regions at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a Canadian investment firm, between 2016 and 2023.

The indictment document said that an unnamed unit of CDPQ is the top stakeholder of Azure Power.

Cabanes, his then-CDPQ colleagues Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal are accused of joining the conspiracy between 2021 and 2022.

Cabanes did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

** Saurabh Agarwal worked with a company associated CDPQ from May 2017 until July 2023, when he reported to Cabanes.

CDPQ on Thursday said it was aware of the charges against its former employees. "Those employees were all terminated in 2023 and CDPQ is cooperating with the U.S. authorities," it said.

Reuters could not immediately reach Agarwal for comment.

** Deepak Malhotra was Director of infrastructure, South Asia, at CDPQ when he joined the board of Azure Power in 2019. He resigned from the board in 2023, along with Cabanes.

Reuters could not immediately reach Malhotra for comment.

** Rupesh Agarwal is currently a co-chair at Indian industry lobby group FICCI Renewable Energy CEO Council. From July 2022 to August 2022, the period mentioned in the indictment document, he was the Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer at Azure.

Reuters could not immediately reach Agarwal for comment.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon, Hritam Mukherjee and Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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Nov 15 (Reuters) - Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS:

• INTIMATED BY NODAL AGENCY FOR FURTHER REDUCTION IN ALLOCATION OF APM GAS BY 13%

Source text: ID:nBSE73SbCs

Further company coverage: ADAG.NS

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Oct 24 (Reuters) - Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS:

• ADANI TOTAL GAS Q2 CONSOL NET PROFIT 1.86 BILLION RUPEES

• ADANI TOTAL GAS Q2 CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 13.18 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: ADAG.NS

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** Shares of Adani Total Gas Ltd ADAG.NS up 5.6% at 833 rupees

** The city gas distributor said it secured $375 mln financing from global lenders to expand network

** ADAG trims YTD losses to 16%, while rivals including Gujarat Gas GGAS.NS and Mahanagar Gas MGAS.NS are up between 28% and 58% this year

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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Adds context on Indian market in paragraphs 5-6, clarifies context in paragraphs 7-8

By America Hernandez

PARIS, Sept 3 (Reuters) - TotalEnergies will form a joint venture with India's Adani Green Energy Ltd in a deal which will see the French oil giant contribute an equity investment of $444 million, it said on Tuesday.

The two companies had formed a joint venture in September 2023 worth $300 million which gave Total "direct access to ownership of assets" contributed by Adani Green — namely 1.05 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar farms in India, where the bulk of energy requirements are still met by coal.

The new agreement, into which Total pays more money, will see each side hold 50% of another portfolio of 1.15 GW of solar electricity installations, both operational and under construction, Adani Green said in a statement.

The electricity will be sold on the wholesale market and through power purchase agreements signed with the federal government agency, Solar Energy Corporation of India, which TotalEnergies said in a statement would allow it to capitalise on the liberalisation of India's power market.

TotalEnergies has described India as a key market to develop both its natural gas and renewable energy businesses.

Searing heatwaves and an uptick in economic activity have resulted in India's electricity generation growing at an average of about 8% annually following the pandemic year of 2020/21, outpacing power demand growth in every major global economy.

Total pressed pause on further involvement with Adani early last year, after allegations of improper dealings and use of tax havens published by U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research wiped about $150 billion in value off the shares of parent Adani Group.

But TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne has defended his company's investments with Adani — it also has a 37.4% stake in Adani Total Gas and a 19.75% share of Adani Green Energy — saying they were still worth more after the share price drop than when Total first bought in.

The French major, which makes most of its money producing and selling oil and gas, hopes to have 45 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Shares of Adani Green closed 5.9% higher on Monday.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Porter, Sharon Singleton and David Evans)

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Corrects to read $13.4 billion (not $19 billion) in headline and paragraph 1, corrects to read $2 billion (not $8.2 billion) in paragraph 4

BENGALURU, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Adani Group companies lost as much as $13.4 billion in market value on Monday but recovered much of the losses after Hindenburg Research accused the head of India's market regulator of having links to offshore funds also used by Adani.

The battle between Hindenburg Research and the Adani Group began 18 months ago when the U.S. shortseller alleged Adani improperly used tax havens, accusations which the conglomerate has denied.

At 0850 GMT, the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS had fallen 1.5%, while Adani Ports APSE.NS, Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS, Adani Power ADAN.NS, Adani Wilmar ADAW.NS and Adani Energy Solutions ADAI.NS fell between 0.5% and 3.8%. Adani Green ADNA.NS was up 0.3%.

Total losses for the day at that time amounted to about $2 billion after the early plunge.

The stocks had lost $150 billion in value after Hindenburg's first report in January 2023 but shares have recovered much of the losses since then.

Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports were among biggest losers on the blue-chip Nifty 50 index .NSEI, which reversed course from early losses to last trade up 0.3%.

"The allegations are coming for the second time. Lot of investigations have happened over the last year and a half. This is a temporary, knee-jerk reaction. Things will get back to normalcy," said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities.

Citing whistleblower documents, Hindenburg said on Saturday that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chair Madhabi Puri Buch has a conflict of interest in the Adani matter due to previous investments.

Buch has been SEBI chief since 2022.

"We do not think SEBI can be trusted as an objective arbiter in the Adani matter," Hindenburg said on Saturday.

Buch said the report's allegations were baseless and in a separate statement the regulator said allegations made by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group have been duly investigated.

Buch termed Hindenburg's allegations as an attempt at "character assassination" following the regulator's enforcement action and "show cause" notice to the shortseller for violating Indian rules. A show cause notice signals an intention to take disciplinary action if satisfactory explanations are not provided.

Adani rejected the allegations against it again on Sunday and said its overseas holding structure was fully transparent.

The latest allegations from Hindenburg come at a time when Adani Enterprises is looking to launch a $1 billion share sale by mid-September. Adani Energy raised $1 billion from US investors and sovereign wealth funds earlier this month.

In January 2023, Adani Enterprises had shelved its record $2.5 billion share sale following the first set of allegations by Hindenburg.

"We will likely see a short to medium term sentiment impact on Adani stocks, especially as retail investors are pressurised by the allegations made against SEBI," said Kranthi Bathini, Director, Equity Strategy, WealthMills Securities.

The new set of allegations have also gained political traction, with India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi saying on X: "The integrity of SEBI, the securities regulator entrusted with safeguarding the wealth of small retail investors, has been gravely compromised by the allegations against its chairperson."

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "Instead of giving a response to the SEBI show cause notice, Hindenburg has issued this report, which is a baseless attack."

"The SEBI and the family (of Buch) have responded, we don't have anything to add to that," he told reporters.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR, Chris Thomas Hritam Mukherjee, and Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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BENGALURU, July 29 (Reuters) - Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS reported a jump in first-quarter profit on Monday, helped by strong demand for the cleaner-burning compressed natural gas (CNG), sending its shares 2% higher.

The Adani group company's consolidated profit rose 15% to 1.72 billion rupees (around $21 million) in the three months ended June 30, marking its sixth straight rise in quarterly profit.

The gas distributor's CNG sales volumes, which account for over half of its total sales, jumped 20% during the quarter with the addition of 24 new stations across the country.

Demand for CNG, used mainly in the transport sector, comes amid a government push to rein in vehicular pollution. India's fuel consumption in the quarter was also driven by strong industrial activity in the run-up to the general elections. O/INDIA2

Revenue from operations rose to 12.39 billion rupees from 11.35 billion rupees a year ago.

Sales volume in the company's piped natural gas (PNG) segment, its second-biggest, rose 11% to 77 million standard cubic meter of gas per day.

The rise in profit comes even as Indian city gas distributors bought spot LNG - the key raw material for CNG - at higher import prices amid a decline in domestic output.

($1 = 83.7010 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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Recasts throughout with CFO comments on regulatory notices

By Sumit Khanna and Chris Thomas

AHMEDABAD, India, June 25 - The finance chief of the Adani Group conglomerate on Tuesday deemed some of the Indian market regulator notices received by group firms citing alleged regulatory lapses as "trivial" in nature.

Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the group has faced regulatory challenges in India since a report by short seller Hindenburg Research in January 2023. It accused group firms of improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation which sparked a $150 billion meltdown in the market value of group firms.

The Adani Group denied any wrongdoing.

Then last month, flagship firm Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS and other group companies disclosed they had received notices from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) about alleged violations including non-compliance with certain provisions for listed companies.

"Some (notices) are trivial," Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh told a media briefing in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

He referred to one such query he himself received relating to his share trading history in relation to the time that GQG Partners invested in the group last year.

"I don't even have a demat account. They were very surprised to find out that I don't have a demat account," he said, referring to a trading account.

"So that ends there. So they were these kinds of procedural things. They have to do something, they couldn't find anything."

GQG and SEBI did not respond to Reuters' requests for immediate comment.

Adani since the Hindenburg report has attracted investment from investors including GQG and Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding IHC.AD.

Group companies said the notices they received were related to disclosure rules and related party transactions, but they have not provided detail regarding the alleged violations or the parties involved.

Adani Enterprises said the notices had no "material consequential effect" for relevant financial statements and there was "no material non-compliance of applicable laws and regulations".

INFRASTRUCTURE
Also on Tuesday, Singh said the group would increase spending in fiscal year 2025 by 85%, to 1.3 trillion rupees ($15.6 billion), as it prepares to capitalise on an expected boom in infrastructure development.

Adani Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of the group, will spend 340 billion rupees to add 6 gigawatts of capacity, Singh told reporters.

Adani is also aiming to nearly double its cement making capacity to 140 million tons (MT) capacity by 2028 from 79 MT, he said.

On Monday, the owner of Adani Group told investors it is "well positioned" to capitalise on opportunities in India's booming infrastructure sector.

(Additional reporting by Nandan Mandayam, Aditya Kalra; editing by Jason Neely)

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By Sethuraman N R

BENGALURU, June 3 (Reuters) - Shares of three Adani Group companies hit record highs Monday amid a broad-based rally in the infrastructure-focussed Indian conglomerate after exit polls predicted a third straight term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

The 10-company conglomerate, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, has invested billions of dollars in mining, ports, trading, electricity and gas among other sectors to benefit from the Modi government's emphasis on infrastructure development.

On the day, shares of Adani Ports APSE.NS jumped as much as 12.8% to a record high, while Adani Power ADAN.NS surged nearly 18% and Ambuja Cements ABUJ.NS rose about 7% to also hit all-time highs.

Shares of Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS, the group's flagship firm advanced nearly 10%, while renewable energy company Adani Green ADNA.NS climbed by 14% to their highest since January 2023.

"If the current government is going to continue for a third term, the growth in infrastructure will be a big focus. Many Adani Group companies are heavily into infrastructure and hence, we are seeing action in these stocks," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises were among the top 10 gainers on the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI index, which also rallied to a record high as the exit polls ensured political continuity.

The index has nearly doubled since 2019, when Modi was elected for a second term. The Adani Group stocks have, however, sky-rocketed between 300% and 4,500% in that period. The broader infrastructure .NIFTYINFR and energy .NIFTYENR indexes have just over doubled in value.

Citi analysts said they expect stocks exposed to the infrastructure and logistics sector, including Adani Ports, to do well in the medium term.

Among other Adani group companies, there were 5% to 9% gains in Adani Energy Solutions ADAI.NS, Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS and consumer goods company Adani Wilmar ADAW.NS, as well as news broadcaster NDTV NTDV.NS cement maker ACC ACC.NS.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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May 30 (Reuters) - Adani Total Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between India's Adani Group and France's TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, is considering building more plants in India to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the growing demand for the cleaner fuel, the company's top boss said on Thursday.

The company has a plan to double the capacity of its 5 million metric tonnes-per-year Dhamra LNG terminal in Eastern India, CEO Satinder Pal Singh said, adding that the terminal is operating at about 52% capacity.

He expects Dhamra LNG plant to operate at full capacity by 2026 or 2027.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma, writing by Varun Hebbalalu)

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Adds graphic, updates levels

By VarunVyas Hebbalalu

BENGALURU, May 24 (Reuters) - Shares of Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS on Friday bounced back to levels last seen in January 2023, before a report by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research triggered a sell-off in billionaire Gautam Adani's ports-to-power conglomerate.

Shares of the Adani group's flagship company rose as much as 2.1% to 3,457.85 rupees. The stock had closed at 3,442 rupees on Jan. 24, 2023, the session before Hindenburg in a report accused the group of stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens.

The group, which refuted the allegations, suffered a loss of as much as $150 billion in combined market value, as the short-seller's report roiled investor confidence and resulted in intense regulatory scrutiny.

Adani Enterprises' stock plunged about 70% to a two-year low within just seven days after the report.

Although the market value of the main stocks, including Ambuja Cement ABUJ.NS, ACC ACC.NS, and NDTV NDTV.NS are still down about $22.35 billion from pre-Hindenburg levels, the shares have staged a smart recovery.

That's partially due to investments from Abu Dhabi-based International Holding IHC.AD and U.S. boutique investment firm GQG Partners GQG.AX, which helped Adani shore up confidence by diluting some of the family's tight shareholding.

Moreover, surges that followed a court-appointed panel saying in May that India's markets watchdog "drew a blank" and India's top court saying no further scrutiny was needed in January, also bolstered support for Adani Enterprises' stock.

Friday's climb follows the previous session's 8% rise after reports that the Adani group flagship could be included in the S&P BSE Sensex index .BSESN.

It is on track to have risen in nine out of ten straight sessions, if the day's gains hold.

Adani Enterprises is the fourth of the seven group companies to have returned to pre-Hindenburg levels.

Adani Ports APSE.NS, Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS, and Adani Power ADAN.NS have already surpassed levels seen before the report.

However, Adani Energy Solutions ADAI.NS, Adani Wilmar ADAW.NS and Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS are still below their pre-Hindenburg close.

Adani Enterprises, which along with Adani Ports is part of India's benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI index, was last up 0.5%.

(Reporting by Varun Hebbalalu in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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