Short Stories

Adani in the Dock

The US SEC and DoJ have charged Adani group chairman Gautam Adani with defrauding American investors and promising and paying bribes worth $265mn to government officials in India. US prosecutors have accused Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six other associates of paying bribes to secure solar energy supply contracts that would yield $2bn in profit over 20 years.

The associates allegedly concealed evidence by agreeing to delete emails and other electronic material, claim prosecutors. According to the SEC complaint, the alleged bribery scheme would benefit Adani Green and Azure Power. The US court has also accused the Adani group of making false and misleading statements to raise funds from international investors for its renewable energy company. According to the DoJ, they also falsely denied their involvement in the scheme during meetings with US officials in New York.

Following the charges, Kenya cancelled an airport and energy deals with the Adani group. A statement issued by the group refuted the charges and termed the allegations “baseless”. Several Adani group shares suffered massive losses.

The group’s stock prices had also seen a sharp drop at the end of January 2023 after American short-seller Hindenburg Research claimed the Adani group engaged in stock manipulation and financial misconduct. The Adani group denied the claims.

SBI Raises $500mn

SBI raised $500mn via five-year bonds from international investors through its London branch. The bonds will be listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX-ST) and India INX. The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and to meet requirements of its foreign offices.

Q2 Earnings Season

Corporate earnings for the second quarter of FY25 were characterised by muted revenue growth and a decline in both profits and margins. Consolidated sales at Tata Steel fell by 3.2% YoY, while at Tata Chemicals they fell 0.8% YoY. However, Vi’s losses narrowed to Rs 7,175 crore in the September quarter, down from Rs 8,746 crore a year earlier. State-run HAL reported a 22.4% rise in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter of FY25 to Rs 1,510.49 crore, up from Rs 1,236.67 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Airtel Awards 5G Gear Deal to Nokia

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has awarded to Nokia a multi-year, multi-billion extension deal for 4G and 5G equipment across Indian states. This is its first big sourcing agreement since its August 2022 orders for 5G deployment. The partnership is also expected to deliver an enhanced user experience and promote energy efficiency. Earlier this year, Vi signed a Rs 14,000 crore deal with Ericsson to procure 4G and 5G equipment over three years.

COP29 Lays Bare Divisions

The UN climate summit, COP29, in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, adopted an agreement to triple the present level of climate finance for developing countries to $300bn. While this marks a significant increase from the previous $100bn pledge, the deal has been criticised by developing nations as insufficient to address the scale of the climate crisis. India has opposed not only the amount agreed upon, but also the manner in which the agreement was adopted.

Air India-Vistara Merger Complete

The Tata group-owned Air India completed its merger with Vistara to create an integrated airline, partly owned by Singapore Airlines. The amalgamation comes within six weeks of the integration of Air India Express and AIX Connect. The new entity is now the country’s largest international carrier and the second-largest domestic carrier. Singapore Airlines will invest an additional Rs 3,194.5 crore in the enlarged entity as part of the merger.

Swiggy Shares Make Debut

Shares of food and quick-commerce platform Swiggy made their debut on the bourses, listing at Rs 420 on NSE, a premium of 7.7% over the issue price of Rs 390. Meanwhile, on BSE, they listed at Rs 412, up 5.64% from the IPO price. Swiggy’s IPO, valued at Rs 11,327.43 crore, was open for subscription from November 6 to November 8. The company’s shares were priced in the Rs 371–390 range per share.

Tata Seals Deal for iPhone Plant

Tata Electronics has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron’s iPhone manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, forming a joint venture that will strengthen Tata’s position as an Apple supplier. Under the terms of the deal, Tata will own 60% of the joint venture and oversee day-to-day operations. Pegatron will retain the remaining stake and continue to provide technical support. The details of the agreement have not been publicly disclosed.

India, Australia Ink Green Pact

India and Australia signed a renewable energy partnership that is expected to provide the framework for cooperation in priority areas such as solar energy, green hydrogen, energy storage and investment in related areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro this month, also agreed to deepen cooperation in defence, technology and trade.