The title of Adani Enterprises, flagship of the conglomerate, ended the session Thursday down -26.50%, at 1,564.70 rupees (19.12 USD).

On Wednesday, the title of Adani Enterprises ended trading on a fall of 28.45% to 2,128.70 rupees (26 dollars).

According to the Bloomberg agency, this plunge would be linked to information that the banking group Credit Suisse had stopped accepting bonds from the Adani conglomerate as collateral for margin loans granted to its private banking clients.

Asked by AFP, Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Since then, other banking groups like Citigroup in the United States have done the same, again according to Bloomberg.

Adani Total Gas, of which the French giant TotalEnergies holds 37.4%, still dropped 10% to 1711.50 rupees at the close.

The rout of its securities follows accusations of accounting fraud made by the American investment company Hindenburg Research last week.

According to the Bloomberg agency, this affair caused the value of the listed companies of the conglomerate to lose 104 billion dollars, and Adani's personal fortune fell by tens of billions of dollars.

16th in the Forbes rankings

Mr. Adani has consequently lost his title of the richest man in Asia and now ranks 16th in the ranking of the world's great fortunes compiled by Forbes in real time.

The group on Wednesday evening canceled its follow-on public offering (FPO) of $2.5 billion of shares in Adani Enterprises which had been oversubscribed the previous day, as the struggling tycoon deemed it would not be "morally correct " to continue the operation.

The sale was supposed to help reduce the company's worrying debt levels and restore confidence by expanding its shareholder base.

Mr Adani insisted in person in a video released on Thursday that the "fundamentals of our business are very strong, our balance sheet is healthy and our assets are robust".

“Once the market stabilizes, we will re-examine our capital market strategy,” he said, noting that his debt repayment record was “impeccable.”

The group's board of directors had previously explained in a press release that it had "decided, in the interest of subscribers, not to proceed" with the FPO, announcing that subscribers would be reimbursed.

Mr Adani's conglomerate is taking a heavy hit with accusations from Hindenburg Research of "brazen stock manipulation and a decades-long system of accounting fraud".

The conglomerate reacted to it on Sunday by claiming to be the victim of a "malicious" attack aimed at tarnishing its reputation.

"This is not just an unwarranted attack on any specific company, but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the history of growth and ambition of India," he replied in a lengthy statement that did not appear to have convinced investors.

"give up the crown jewels"

Mr. Adani, 60, has seen his empire grow at breakneck speed, with Adani Enterprises' share price soaring more than 1,000% in the past five years.

The tycoon made his fortune in ports and commodity trading.

He now heads India's third-largest conglomerate with interests ranging from coal mining and edible oils, to airports and the media.

India's central bank has asked lenders for details of their exposure to Adani Group, Bloomberg reported.

"It remains to be seen now whether they will be forced to hand over the crown jewels to strategic investors. I think that's what Adani is going to have to do in the end," Tim Buckley told AFP. Australian analyst specializing in the Indian energy market.

Parliament had to adjourn Thursday morning after repeated outbursts from MPs demanding the government debate Adani and the level of exposure of public sector banks and financial institutions.

India's stock market has remained stable since the Adani debacle, and India's Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Bloomberg TV he doesn't fear a systemic effect.

"India has a very wide range of companies," he said, "whatever jolting in the stock market is not going to affect the whole economy, I'm sure sure".

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© 2023 AFP