According to billionaire investor George Soros, the turbulence surrounding Gautam Adani’s corporate empire, which has prompted a painful stock market selloff and shattered faith in India as an investment opportunity, may open the door to a democratic renaissance in the nation.
Details about Billionaire investor George Soros stated the following on the Adani-Hindenburg saga
The aftermath from US short seller Hindenburg Research’s attack on the company has fueled concerns about the country’s regulatory environment and raised doubts about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship to Adani.
“Modi is deafeningly silent on the matter, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament,” Soros stated ahead of the Munich Security Conference. “This will dramatically undermine Modi’s stronghold on India’s federal government and open the door to push for much-needed institutional reforms. I may be foolish, but I believe India will experience a democratic renaissance.”
Soros, who has an estimated net worth of $.8.5 billion, founded the Open Society Foundations, which provides contributions to organisations and individuals that promote democracy, transparency, and free speech.
The damning short-seller report in late January accusing the Adani Group of accounting fraud and stock manipulation triggered a stock rout that has wiped out more than $120 billion of the empire’s market value and pushed the man who was once the world’s second-wealthiest down the Bloomberg Billionaires Index rankings.
The problem has also focused attention on Modi’s connection with Adani. The Indian opposition has focused on the pair’s close ties as well as the business tycoon’s stratospheric rise, which mirrored Modi’s political journey to the top elected post. Modi has not addressed the matter directly.
The debt of the Adani empire is the latest focus of the Adani saga. Following a borrowing frenzy in recent years, a surge in yields and concerns over access to international finance in the aftermath of the short-seller report has sparked warnings that the group’s more heavily indebted companies may not be able to withstand higher interest rates.
