Nagging questions over the Adani empire won’t go away

On the surface it was a huge mismatch—David versus an army of Goliaths. Yet in a matter of days a by Hindenburg Research, a fledgling short-selling firm, resulted in a fall of over $50bn in the wealth of , hitherto one of the world’s richest men and a close associate of Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister. Along the way, a $2.5bn share offering by Adani Enterprises, flagship of the Adani Group’s listed companies, was . Hindenburg alleged that Adani is a giant con. Adani countered that the charges are baseless and, moreover, count as an attack on India itself.Mr Adani is a big target. His empire has expanded rapidly in recent years, and now includes everything from ports to power plants. Its share offer initially closed on January 31st with enough interest to seem a success, underpinned by anchor investors including International Holding Company, a firm based in Abu Dhabi. But after a sustained rout in share prices, Adani suddenly cancelled the sale on February 1st, saying it would be morally wrong to impose losses on its sponsors. Global investors are now left with nagging questions about the finances of one of India’s biggest firms.