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☆ Gautam Adani’s woes were in banks' plain sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

MUMBAI, Feb 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani’s recent woes have vindicated persistent doubts in India about the tycoon’s rise. The Indian group dismisses those claims as a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations”. By contrast, other big Indian groups like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (DBKGn.DE) and those carrying the Tata name are more popular with institutional investors. Fee-hungry international banks were much less picky. Deutsche, Barclays and StanChart pocketed $57 million of the $260 million of investment banking revenue generated by the Adani group since Dealogic records began.

☆ Holcim to acquire U.S. roofing systems firm Duro-Last for $1.29 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ZURICH, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Holcim AG (HOLN.S) on Tuesday said it has agreed to acquire U.S. roofing systems manufacturer Duro-Last. The Swiss cement maker said the transaction is valued at $1.29 billion and that, as a result, Holcim roofing systems will exceed $4 billion in net sales ahead of schedule. Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's NSE puts trades in some Adani firms under additional watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The NSE also placed Monarch Networth Capital (MONR.NS), one of the 10 underwriters of Adani Enterprises' (ADEL.NS) botched share sale, under additional surveillance. The Ahmedabad-based brokerage was responsible for "non institutional marketing", according to the Adani share sale document. Last year, Adani Group acquired Ambuja Cements Ltd (ABUJ.NS) and ACC (ACC.NS) from Holcim AG (HOLN.S) to enter the business. Adani Enterprises tumbled 27%, closing at their lowest level since March 2022. Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the exchange's latest decision.

Spokespeople for SEBI and Adani Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Among several allegations, Hindenburg accused Adani Group last week of using offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. On Tuesday, Adani Group mustered support from investors for a $2.5 billion share sale for Adani Enterprises, in what some saw as a stamp of investor confidence at a time of crisis. Reuters Graphics[1/5] Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an inauguration ceremony after the Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa Port in Haifa port, Israel January 31, 2023. The U.S. dollar-denominated bonds of Adani Ports maturing in February 2031 led the losses, falling 3.59 cents to 67.58 cents.

[1/5] Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an inauguration ceremony after the Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa Port in Haifa port, Israel January 31, 2023. "The kind of fall that we are seeing in Adani stocks is scary," said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Mumbai-based Profitmart Securities. After losing $86 billion in recent days, the seven listed Adani Group entities now have a combined market capitalisation of about $131 billion. LIC owned a 4.23% stake in Adani Enterprises as of end-December and more than 9% in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. Siddhartha Mohanty, one of LIC's managing directors, said in interviews on Monday that the insurer was engaging with the Adani Group but was positive on its investments.

☆ Adani’s battle with Hindenburg leaves investors sizing up exposure to the global banking sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Seema Mody | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Indeed, Indian banks make up 0.6% of the group's sector loans, according to JPMorgan. This may seem low but the total exposure to the Adani Group is still around $9 billion, wrote Saurabh Kumar, an analyst at JPMorgan. Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group. Jefferies analyst Prakhar Sharma writes that, for now, the risk to Indian banks is low, saying, "we don't see material risk to the Indian banking sector." Of the seven companies operated by the Adani Group: Adani Green Energy, Adani Power and Adani Ports are sitting on the most net debt, according to analysts.

The stunning market selloff has cast a shadow over Adani Enterprises' secondary share sale that started on Friday. The share sale is being managed by Jefferies, India's SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, and ICICI Securities among others. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummeted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS), Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission marked their worst intraday drop ever, with heavy volumes. Billionaire U.S. investor Bill Ackman said on Thursday that he found the Hindenburg report "highly credible and extremely well researched."

Adani Group has dismissed the report as baseless and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm. "There were heavy positions in Adani group (shares), the way they have risen in the last couple of years," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities in New Delhi. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummetted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS) Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Enterprises' net profit for the period ended Sept. 30, 2022 doubled to 9 billion Indian rupees ($110.31 million) while its total income nearly tripled to 795 billion Indian rupees, according to its share sale prospectus. The company's total liabilities as of September 2022 stood at 869 billion rupees ($10.64 billion), the prospectus showed.

☆ India market regulator increases scrutiny of Adani group - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jayshree Pyasi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Email queries and phone calls sent to Adani Group were not answered. Adani earlier this week dismissed the Hindenburg report as baseless and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm. The regulator had sought clarity from the group on these entities when the group approached it for regulatory clearance last year. Hindenburg's report on the Adani group comes amid a $2.45 billion secondary share sale by the group's flagship company Adani Enterprises. Some issues raised in the Hindenburg report point to concerns similar to what the regulator had regarding movement of funds between parties related to the Adani Group through offshore funds back into local companies, sources said.

☆ Holcim CEO wants to further expand in North America -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Holcim wants to grow its solutions and products division to around 30% of group sales by 2025, Jenisch told financial website The Market. "We're well on track there, and it can grow further," The Market cited Jenisch as saying in an interview published on Wednesday. In a few years, the three equally important pillars of Cement, Aggregates/Concrete, and Solutions & Products should each account for one third of revenues." "In the roofing business alone, we generate over $3 billion in sales there," he said. "The roofing business alone has a market volume of $30 billion in the U.S., and together with Europe and Latin America it's $50 billion.

Hindenburg, known for having shorted electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) and Twitter, said it holds short positions in Adani companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. Shares in Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) fell 9%, Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) slipped 6.3% and Adani Enterprises ended down 1.5%. Adani Group's total gross debt in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, rose 40% to 2.2 trillion rupees. Refinitiv data shows debt at Adani Group's seven key listed Adani companies exceeds equity, with debt at Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) exceeding equity by more than 2,000%. Hindenburg also said it was concerned that a high proportion of equity held by promoters or key shareholders in Adani Group listed companies has been pledged for loans.

☆ Geopolitics is a larger concern than recessionary pressures, says Holcim CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailGeopolitics is a larger concern than recessionary pressures, says Holcim CEOJan Jenisch, CEO of building materials manufacturer Holcim, discusses operating through unprecedented times over the last three years and his outlook for 2023.

☆ Morgan Stanley says these 'standout names' take sustainability seriously — and have upside to boot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Embracing sustainability doesn't have to come at the expense of financial performance — Morgan Stanley named several European companies it says have managed to show just that. These stocks are rated overweight and have average upside of around 20% to 35%, the bank added. Morgan Stanley described the company as a "global leader" in cement decarbonization, and its "ambitious" medium-term decarbonization target puts it in a "league of its own." Morgan Stanley also named German utility firm RWE on its list. The bank estimates that RWE will achieve around 16 billion euros ($17 billion) of free cash flow in 2023.

☆ Judge Orders Cruise Companies to Pay More Than $436 Million for Docking at Seized Terminal in Cuba
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Four major cruise lines say they will appeal a recent ruling that would force them to pay roughly $436 million in total damages to a company that owned a port terminal in Havana prior to the Cuban Revolution. The ruling in favor of Havana Docks Corp., owner of the Havana Cruise Port Terminal before the Cuban revolution, marked an important milestone for Cuban-Americans seeking compensation for property confiscated by the Castro regime. Mickael Behn, a descendant of the original owners of Havana Docks. The verdict in favor of Havana Docks is the first from a district court, the data shows. The ruling comes after the judge in the case, Beth Bloom, signaled last March that she agreed that the use of the Cuban port constituted trafficking in confiscated property owned by Havana Docks.

The macroeconomic environment is also not one that really favours aggressive investment at this point in time," Jaideep Khanna, who heads Barclays' Asia Pacific business told Reuters in an interview. We, as a business within the Barclays framework, are accretive to the firm and have delivered over the last three years," said Mumbai-based Khanna, who is also Barclays' India CEO. Khanna, the only regional CEO of a global bank to be based in India, took the role in 2017 after joining Barclays in 2001. The country is also home to Barclays' global services centre, where it employs more than 21,000 - its second-largest number of staff outside of Britain. In Australia, Khanna said Barclays would deepen its involvement with investment banking boutique firm Barrenjoey Capital Partners in which it nearly doubled its stake to 18.2% this year.

☆ India's UltraTech Cement misses Q2 profit estimates as expenses rise, demand weakens
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Oct 19 (Reuters) - India's top cement maker UltraTech Cement (ULTC.NS) on Wednesday reported a bigger-than-expected drop in September-quarter profit, dented by higher power and fuel costs as well as lower demand. Consolidated net profit for the quarter was at 7.56 billion Indian rupees ($91.77 million), down over 42% on year. Analysts, on average, had expected the company to report a profit of 8.58 billion rupees for the latest quarter, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Consolidated net sales in the September-quarter rose about 16% to 135.96 billion rupees from a year ago. read moreCompetition in domestic cement industry got heated after UltraTech Cement in June charted out a plan to increase its annual capacity to 159.25 million tonnes per annum to stave off competition from the sector's newest entrant Adani Group.

Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015, agreed to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea agreement. "Lafarge made a deal with the devil," Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, told reporters following the guilty plea. At that point, Islamic State took possession of the remaining cement and sold it for the equivalent of $3.21 million, prosecutors said. REUTERS/Charles PlatiauHolcim said that former Lafarge executives involved in the conduct concealed it from Holcim, as well as from external auditors. No Lafarge executives were charged in the United States.

Companies Lafarge Sa FollowHolcim AG FollowNEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French cement maker Lafarge pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a U.S. charge that it made payments to groups designated as terrorists by the United States, including Islamic State. The admission in Brooklyn federal court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015, agreed to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea agreement. U.S. prosecutors said that Lafarge paid Islamic State and al Nusra Front, through intermediaries, the equivalent of approximately $5.92 million. At that point, Islamic State took possession of the remaining cement and sold it for the equivalent of $3.21 million, prosecutors said.

A French cement company has been charged in the U.S. with making $17 million in payments to the Islamic State terror group in exchange for the protection of its plant in Syria, the Justice Department said Tuesday. While no individuals have been charged, Justice Department officials said the investigation is ongoing. "We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve this matter," the statement added. In 2015, Lafarge was purchased by Holcim, a company in Switzerland. Holcim added that Lafarge concealed the conduct from Holcim before and after the acquisition.

ZURICH, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Holcim (HOLN.S) said it supported the agreement made by Lafarge SA with the United States Department of Justice on Tuesday regarding the company's funding of Islamic State to allow it to keep a cement plant running in Syria. A financial penalty of $778 million and a plea agreement has been arranged to resolve the DoJ inquiry into Lafarge, which is now part of Holcim following the companies' 2015 merger. "None of the conduct involved Holcim, which has never operated in Syria, or any Lafarge operations or employees in the United States, and it is in stark contrast with everything that Holcim stands for," Holcim said in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by John Revill, editing by Kirsti KnolleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A view of a Lafarge Cement plant is seen in Paris, France on September 8, 2021. The nearly $17 million payments to ISIS were made from August 2013 through October 2014, and occurred even as the terror group was kidnapping and killing Westerners. In a statement, Lafarge said, "Lafarge SA and [Lafarge Cement Syria] have accepted responsibility for the actions of the individual executives involved, whose behavior was in flagrant violation of Lafarge's Code of Conduct. "The DOJ noted that former Lafarge SA and [Lafarge Cement Syria] executives involved in the conduct concealed it from Holcim before and after Holcim acquired Lafarge SA, as well as from external auditors," Holcim said. Lafarge was indicted by French authorities in 2018 in connection with the ISIS payments on charges of being complicit in crimes against humanity.

Companies Lafarge Sa FollowHolcim AG FollowNEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French cement maker Lafarge pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a U.S. charge that it made payments to groups designated as terrorists by the United States, including Islamic State, according to a court hearing. The admission in Brooklyn federal court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. The cement maker previously admitted after an internal investigation that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed groups to help protect staff at the plant. Holcim said that former Lafarge executives involved in the conduct concealed it from Holcim, as well as from external auditors. Rights groups in France in 2017 accused Lafarge of paying 13 million euros ($12.79 million) to armed groups including Islamic State militants to keep operating in Syria between 2011 and 2015.

☆ Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was a college dropout. Now he may be too big to fail
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate had just launched a hostile bid to take over an influential broadcaster in the capital. Rupak De Chowdhuri/ReutersMuch of his fortune is tied up in the sprawling Adani Group, which he founded over 30 years ago. Most of the companies in the Adani empire are held closely by the billionaire, his family and associated firms, including nearly 75% stakes in AEL, Adani Power, and Adani Transmissions. Yet, the Adani Group has continued to raise billions from Indian and foreign banks. CreditSights, a research firm owned by Fitch Group, in August published a report about Adani Group titled “Deeply Overleveraged” in which it expressed strong concerns.

☆ India's Adani pledges shares of ACC, Ambuja Cements worth about $12.5 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Amit DaveBENGALURU, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India's Adani Group has pledged shares worth about $12.5 billion in two cement units, days after the conglomerate controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani completed the purchase of stakes in those businesses from Switzerland's Holcim (HOLN.S). The pledged shares of ACC and Ambuja were worth around 989.46 billion rupees based on Monday's closing prices and accounted for a 57% stake in ACC (ACC.NS) and a 63% stake in Ambuja Cements (ABUJ.NS). (https://bityl.co/EZE6) (https://bityl.co/EZEE)Deutsche Bank AG's Hong Kong branch, which is the agent for the pledged shares in ACC and Ambuja, made the disclosure in filings to India's stock exchanges. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe group in May announced the acquisition of Holcim's cement businesses in India for $10.5 billion to become the country's No. read more($1 = 79.7210 Indian rupees)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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