“Hindenburg May Be Best Thing That Happened To Adani”: Swaminathan Aiyar

According to economist Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, the Hindenburg report might be the “greatest thing” that has ever happened to billionaire Gautam Adani since it might instill financial discipline within the conglomerate.

Following allegations of unlawful use of tax havens and stock manipulation by the “apples-to-airports” conglomerate made in the Hindenburg report, the market value of seven listed Adani Group firms fell by about $125 billion.

Any wrongdoing has been categorically rejected by the Adani Group.

The economist rejects the claim, frequently made by opposition parties, that Mr. Adani amassed his wealth through political favouritism and manipulation, “mining money in cosy monopolies.”

The economist claims that while all businesspeople make political contacts, it cannot ensure success and that skill, not simply political connections, is necessary for success in the infrastructure industry.

In a commentary for The Economic Times, Mr. Aiyar believes that the Adani Group will gain from lowering the “breakneck speed” at which it has been growing and diversifying after it suffered a stock fall following a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research.

“I think the Hindenburg report may be the best thing that ever happened to Adani. It will slow his speed of expansion and diversification and force his financiers to be diligent and cautious in future. This could impose highly desirable financial discipline on Adani, to his own benefit,” he writes.

“Hindenburg may have been a blessing in disguise – or, in Winston Churchill’s words in response to his wife trying to cheer him up after his post-war electoral defeat, a blessing ‘quite effectively disguised’.”

“One day I might actually buy Adani shares,” he says, adding that he did not own any Adani company shares because of “high prices and high risk”.