Chairman Gautam Adani stated that Adani Enterprises is well-positioned to benefit from possibilities in the infrastructure sector of India during the company’s annual general meeting (AGM).
He continued by saying that states handle the majority of the financing and implementation of these infrastructure projects.
“We are primarily an infrastructure company and are in a strong position to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead,” Adani stated via video conference to shareholders during the 32nd Annual General Meeting of the firm on Monday.
A business executive informed shareholders that starting this year, the AGMs of all listed Adani entities will take place in the same week of June. The leadership said, “The idea was to coincide the group’s AGM season with the chairman’s birthday.” Adani celebrated his 62nd birthday on June 24.
Adani stated that a total of $2.5 trillion is anticipated to be spent on infrastructure in India.
“What is even more relevant is that, while the national narrative sets the stage for infrastructure spend, large parts of the funding and action are at the state level,” he said, highlighting the role of states in India’s infrastructure spending.
He continued, “We are first hand witnesses to the critical role state governments play in implementing the initiatives,” as the group’s operations are scattered throughout 24 Indian states.
During his speech to shareholders, Adani mentioned the Hindenburg incident several times. He remarked, “A foreign short seller called into question our decades of hard work with baseless accusations.”
“Two-sided attack… was a calculated strike two days before the closure of our follow-on public offer,” he said of the Hindenburg report.
US-based Hindenburg Research published a number of claims of financial irregularities at Adani Group entities in January 2023.
The study was released shortly after Adani Enterprises’ Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO).
The company chose to cancel the FPO and return the earnings even though it was able to raise the targeted amount. The claims have been denied by the group.
A question was raised by shareholders on the potential effects of the present geopolitical unrest on the India-Middle East-Europe corridor project.
The group’s chief financial officer (CFO), Jugeshinder Singh, stated, “We do not see short-term disruption to have a major impact on the long-term approach to the development of the trade routes.”
“We are testing electrolysers at the site with close to 100 KV,” Singh stated. “We expect to complete the development and planning of the green hydrogen ecosystem over the next few years,” he continued.
