Adani bonds slide to year low as investors weigh bribery allegations

By Tom Westbrook and Scott Murdoch

SINGAPORE/SYDNEY (Reuters) -Adani dollar bond prices fell to almost one-year lows on Monday as investors cut their exposure to the Indian conglomerate in the wake of bribery and fraud allegations from U.S. authorities.

The group’s billionaire chairman, Gautam Adani, and seven other people were last week charged with agreeing to pay around $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials.

The charges related to alleged payments to obtain contracts that could yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years as well as to develop India’s largest solar power project.

The charges also included making misleading statements to the public despite being made aware of the U.S. investigation in 2023.

The Adani Group has said the accusations as well as those levelled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case are baseless and that it will seek “all possible legal recourse”. In Asian trade on Monday, some of the most liquid debts, issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell between 1 cent and 2 cents, with similar selling in Adani Transmission debt. Ports bonds maturing in 2027 were down 1.6 cent to 88.98 cents on the dollar, having lost nearly 7 cents in face value since U.S. prosecutors charged billionaire Chairman Gautam Adani last week. Longer-dated Ports bonds were down on Monday and have lost between 8 cents and 10 cents in face value on the news. Adani Transmission debt maturing in May 2036 fell 1.8 cent on Monday for a loss of more than 7 cents since Wednesday.

Adani group’s 10 listed stocks led by Adani Enterprises (NS:) lost $27.9 billion in market value over two sessions last week after the U.S. charges.