Gautam Adani’s business empire has been under pressure ever since US short seller Hindenburg Research leveled allegations of alleged market manipulation and fraud at the conglomerate.

Adnan Abidi/Reuters

• Adani Group companies have lost over $110 billion in market value in the past fortnight. 
• That’s after US short seller Hindenburg Research leveled allegations of market manipulation and fraud at the conglomerate.
• These losses eclipse those at other short seller targets like Enron and Wirecard. 

Very few companies have lost a huge chunk of their market capital as swiftly and to such an extent as those belonging to the Adani Group. 

Ten listed companies under the Adani Group — which came under attack by short seller Hindenburg Research — have already shed more than $110 billion as of Friday, per Bloomberg. These losses eclipse the market capital lost by other targets of a short seller’s attack.

Adani Group’s losses were significantly larger and swifter than the bloodshed at Houston-based energy trading giant Enron and German payments company Wirecard, which were also mired in accounting scandals before they collapsed, according to a Bloomberg analysis published on Friday. While Enron has ceased to exist, Wirecard is now insolvent. 

Enron was brought down — in part — by famed short seller Jim Chanos of hedge fund Kynikos Associates. Chanos shorted the firm’s stock after flagging fraudulent accounting practices. Enron lost more than $65 billion between August 2000 and December 2001 when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, per Bloomberg’s record.

In Wirecard’s case, it was short seller Fraser Perring, who in a 2016 report, accused the payments firm of money laundering and fraud. Wirecard’s share price collapsed after the company revealed in June 2020 that $2 billion in cash went “missing” from its balance sheet and likely never existed. It filed for insolvency in the same month. Wirecard’s market value was wiped out from 24 billion euros, or $26 billion, in 2018.

Other companies that have lost substantial market value after being targeted by short sellers include electric truck maker Nikola — its market value fell from a high of around $30 billion in 2020 to $1.3 billion now — and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The latter’s market cap fell from $87 billion in August 2015 to around $2.8 billion now.

Nikola, in particular, was also targeted by Hindenburg Research. The US-based short seller has targeted about 30 firms since 2020, per Bloomberg. These stocks lost about 15% on average the day after being targeted, and were on average 26% lower six months later, according to the news outlet’s calculations.

On its part, the Adani Group has been troubleshooting hard. On January 29, it released a 413-page report defending itself against Hindenburg’s allegation — just three days after saying it was exploring potential legal action against the short seller.

They even sought to restore investor confidence by prepaying $1.1 billion in loans, the conglomerate said in a statement on Monday. It said the move was made “in light of recent market volatility.”

And it seems to be working — most Adani Group-related stocks appeared to be lifted by the news.

The conglomerate’s flagship company, Adani Enterprises surged 20% in under two hours of trade on Tuesday, while those of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone soared over 9%. Shares of Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Power were also up. The shares of Adani Total Gas were 5% lower.

Overwhelmed rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria approached 5,000 on Tuesday, with despair mounting and the scale of the disaster hampering relief efforts.

In the Turkish city of Antakya near the Syrian border, where 10-storey buildings had crumbled onto the streets, Reuters journalists saw rescue work being conducted on one out of dozens of mounds of rubble.

The temperature was close to freezing as the rain came down and there was no electricity or fuel in the city.

The magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria early on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless.

In Turkey, the death toll climbed to 3,381 people, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said.

The death toll in Syria, already devastated by more than 11 years of war, stands at more than 1,500, according to the Syrian government and a rescue service in the insurgent-held northwest.

Freezing winter weather hampered search efforts through the night. A woman’s voice was heard calling for help under a pile of rubble in the southern Turkish province of Hatay. Nearby, the body of a small child lay lifeless.

Weeping in the rain, a resident who gave his name as Deniz wrung his hands in despair.

“They’re making noises but nobody is coming,” he said. “We’re devastated, we’re devastated. My God … They’re calling out. They’re saying, ‘Save us’ but we can’t save them. How are we going to save them? There has been nobody since the morning.”

Families slept in cars lined up in the streets.

Ayla, standing by a pile of rubble where an eight-storey building once stood, said she had driven to Hatay from Gaziantep on Monday in search of her mother. Five or six rescuers from the Istanbul fire department were working in the ruins – a sandwich of concrete and glass.

“There have been no survivors yet. A street dog came and barked at a certain point for long, I feared it was for my mother. But it was someone else,” she said.

“I turned on the lights of the car to help the rescue team. They took out only two bodies so far, no survivors.”

In Kahramanmaras, north of Antakya, families gathered around fires and wrapped themselves in blankets to stay warm.

“We barely made it out of the house,” said Neset Guler, huddling with his four children. “Our situation is a disaster. We are hungry, we are thirsty. It’s miserable.”

Ankara declared a “level 4 alarm” that calls for international assistance, but not a state-of-emergency that would lead to mass mobilization of the military.

AFAD official Orhan Tatar said 5,775 buildings had been destroyed in the quake, which had been followed by 285 aftershocks, and that 20,426 people had been injured.

The Turkish disaster agency said 13,740 search and rescue personnel were deployed and more than 41,000 tents, 100,000 beds and 300,000 blankets had been sent to the region.

The earthquake, which was followed by aftershocks, was the biggest recorded worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey since one in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021.

Another earthquake of 5.6 magnitude struck central Turkey on Tuesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

Monday’s quake was the deadliest in Turkey since one of similar magnitude in 1999 that killed more than 17,000. Nearly 16,000 were reported injured in Monday’s quake.

Poor internet connections and damaged roads between some of the worst-hit Turkish cities, homes to millions of people, hindered efforts to assess the impact and plan help.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, preparing for a tough election in May, called the quake a historic disaster and said authorities were doing all they could.

In the Turkish city of Iskenderun, rescuers climbed an enormous pile of debris that was once part of a state hospital’s intensive care unit in search of survivors. Health workers did what they could to tend to the new rush of injured.

“We have a patient who was taken into surgery but we don’t know what happened,” said Tulin, a woman in her 30s, standing outside the hospital, wiping away tears and praying.

In Syria, the effects of the quake were compounded by the destruction of more than 11 years of civil war.

In the rebel-held northwest, the death toll stands at more than 740 people, according to the Syrian civil defence, a rescue service known for digging people from the rubble of government air strikes.

The civil defence said hundreds of families were trapped under the rubble and time was running out to save them.

“Every second means saving lives and we call on all humanitarian organisations to give material aid and respond to this catastrophe urgently,” said Raed al-Saleh, head of the civil defence.

A top U.N. humanitarian official in Syria said fuel shortages and the harsh weather were creating obstacles to its response.

“The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people … but we are working hard,” U.N. resident coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih told Reuters in an interview via video link from Damascus.

The death toll in Syrian government-held areas rose to 812, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

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Overwhelmed rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria rose past 4,400 on Tuesday, with despair mounting and the scale of the disaster hampering relief efforts.

In the Turkish city of Antakya near the Syrian border, where 10-storey buildings crumbled onto the streets, Reuters journalists saw rescue work being conducted on one out of dozens of mounds of rubble.

The temperature was close to freezing as the rain came down and there was no electricity or fuel in the city.

The magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria early on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless.

In Turkey, the death toll climbed to 2,921 people, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said.

The death toll in Syria, already devastated by more than 11 years of war, stands at more than 1,500, according to the Syrian government and a rescue service in the insurgent-held northwest.

Freezing winter weather hampered search efforts through the night. A woman’s voice was heard calling for help under a pile of rubble in the southern Turkish province of Hatay. Nearby, the body of a small child lay lifeless.

Weeping in the rain, a resident who gave his name as Deniz wrung his hands in despair.

“They’re making noises but nobody is coming,” he said. “We’re devastated, we’re devastated. My God … They’re calling out. They’re saying, ‘Save us’ but we can’t save them. How are we going to save them? There has been nobody since the morning.”

Families slept in cars lined up in the streets.

Ayla, standing by a pile of rubble where an eight-storey building once stood, said she had driven to Hatay from Gaziantep on Monday in search of her mother. Five or six rescuers from the Istanbul fire department were working in the ruins – a sandwich of concrete and glass.

“There have been no survivors yet. A street dog came and barked at a certain point for long, I feared it was for my mother. But it was someone else,” she said.

“I turned on the lights of the car to help the rescue team. They took out only two bodies so far, no survivors.”

In Kahramanmaras, north of Antakya, families gathered around fires and wrapped themselves in blankets to stay warm.

“We barely made it out of the house,” said Neset Guler, huddling with his four children. “Our situation is a disaster. We are hungry, we are thirsty. It’s miserable.”

AFAD said nearly 8,000 people have been rescued from 4,758 buildings destroyed in the tremors a day earlier.

It said 13,740 search and rescue personnel were deployed and more than 41,000 tents, 100,000 beds and 300,000 blankets had been sent to the region. “The delivery of personnel and vehicles continued uninterrupted during the night,” it said.

The earthquake, which was followed by aftershocks, was the biggest recorded worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey since one in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021.

Another earthquake of 5.6 magnitude struck central Turkey on Tuesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

Monday’s quake was the deadliest in Turkey since one of similar magnitude in 1999 that killed more than 17,000. Nearly 16,000 were reported injured in Monday’s quake.

Poor internet connections and damaged roads between some of the worst-hit Turkish cities, homes to millions of people, hindered efforts to assess the impact and plan help.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, preparing for a tough election in May, called the quake a historic disaster and said authorities were doing all they could.

In the Turkish city of Iskenderun, rescuers climbed an enormous pile of debris that was once part of a state hospital’s intensive care unit in search of survivors. Health workers did what they could to tend to the new rush of injured.

“We have a patient who was taken into surgery but we don’t know what happened,” said Tulin, a woman in her 30s, standing outside the hospital, wiping away tears and praying.

In Syria, the effects of the quake were compounded by the destruction of more than 11 years of civil war.

In the rebel-held northwest, the death toll stands at more than 740 people, according to the Syrian civil defence, a rescue service known for digging people from the rubble of government air strikes.

The civil defence said hundreds of families were trapped under the rubble and time was running out to save them.

A top U.N. humanitarian official in Syria said fuel shortages and the harsh weather were creating obstacles to its response.

“The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people … but we are working hard,” U.N. resident coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih told Reuters in an interview via video link from Damascus.

The Syrian health ministry said the death toll in government-held areas stood at 764 people.

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Adani group shares surged on Tuesday, a day after it moved to prepay some loans, in a relief rally for the Indian conglomerate that lost more than $113 billion in market value in two weeks since a U.S. short-seller’s critical report was published.

The group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, said on Monday it is pre-paying $1.11 billion of loans on shares ahead of their maturity in 2024 due to recent market volatility. Separately, JPMorgan said the group companies were still eligible for inclusion in the bank’s bond indexes.

Those two factors were having a positive impact on stocks, said Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets.

“Also aiding the rise is the sharp correction in the group stocks, which have made them attractive,” she said.

Indian bourse National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) revised on Monday the maximum daily permissible limit for price moves for Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS) to 5% from 10%, according to data on its website.

The group’s flagship company, Adani Enterprises Ltd (ADEL.NS), jumped 20% on Tuesday morning, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) gained 8.9%.

Shares of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) rose 2.7%, and Adani Transmission and Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS) added 5% each. Adani Total Gas Ltd (ADAG.NS), however, fell 5% and Adani Power (ADAN.NS) shed 3%.

Many Adani group companies are reporting quarterly results this week, with Adani Ports and Adani Green set to report later in the day.

Though the stocks were staging a recovery, the cumulative losses of Adani group’s seven listed companies still stand at $105 billion since Hindenburg Research’s report on Jan. 24 that alleged it engaged in stock manipulation and use of tax havens. It also said the group had unsustainable debt.

Adani group has denied the allegations, saying it complies with all laws and has made necessary disclosures over time.

Adani has a total notional value of $7.7 billion in the JPMorgan’s CEMBI and JACI indexes, the bank said in a note on Monday.

Besides CEMBI and JACI, Adani’s dollar bonds remain eligible to be part of JPMorgan’s ESG Global Corporate Index (JESG), an integrated environmental, social, and governance corporate benchmark covering investment grade and high-yield markets.

The Adani crisis spilled over to the streets on Monday, with hundreds of members of India’s main opposition Congress party protesting and pressing for a probe into Hindenburg’s allegations.

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Asian share markets mostly stabilised on Tuesday after steep losses in the past 24 hours, while the U.S dollar remained elevated as investors considered the prospects for interest rates to remain higher for longer in many developed economies.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.4%, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 (.AXJO) was trading higher ahead of the Reserve Bank’s decision but slid into negative territory after the official cash rate was raised by 25 basis points. The benchmark index closed down nearly 0.5%.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index (.N225) also erased initial gains to ease about 0.1%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) was trading 0.67% higher and China’s bluechip CSI300 Index (.CSI300) was up 0.07%.

The RBA delivered on expectations to extend its monetary tightening campaign as it ordered a ninth consecutive rate rise.

Australia’s cash rate now stands at 3.35%, the highest in a decade, and the central bank indicated more hikes could not be ruled out.

In early European trades, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.17% at 4,218, German DAX futures were up 0.09% at 15,409, FTSE futures were up 0.09% at 7,815.

U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , were up 0.13% at 4,128.8.

“Sentiment in markets is dominated by central banks and the repricing of rates yet again,” Kerry Craig, JPMorgan Asset Management’s global market strategist, told Reuters.

“Equities have had a strong run since the start of the year so seeing an air pocket emerge now is no major surprise.

“It’s a quiet week for economic data globally and when that is the case uncertainty over interest rates is the dominant theme among investors.”

In the Asian trading session, the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes hit 3.6192% compared with its U.S. close of 3.632% on Monday.

The two-year yield , which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 4.4267% compared with a U.S. close of 4.456%.

The repricing of higher rates began after strong U.S jobs growth in January, with employment rising 517,000, more than double economists expectations. The unemployment rate hit 3.4%, the lowest in more than 53 years.

Investors will be closely watching a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Economic Club of Washington later on Tuesday.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.61% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 1%.

“The market has repriced to expect that the Fed Funds rate will peak just above 5% and it now only anticipates very limited rate cuts, just one of 25 basis points by the end of this year,” ANZ economists wrote.

“It’s very clear that sentiment is fragile and data dependent, and this new defensive posture may have further to run near term as risk positions are scaled back.”

The dollar eased 0.28% against the yen to 132.28 , after touching a three-week high of 132.9 during the U.S trading session.

The European single currency was up 0.1% on the day at $1.0739, having lost 1.13% in a month.

The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of major trading partner currencies, was down marginally at 103.45 from its U.S. trading levels. However, it remains well above its recent low of 101.55 on Feb 3.

U.S. crude ticked up 0.86% to $74.75 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $81.6 per barrel.

Gold was slightly higher. Spot gold was traded at $1873.65 per ounce.

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