MUMBAI: “Regulators will do their job. You’ve had the Reserve Bank comment on it yesterday. And prior to that, the banks and the LIC have themselves come out to say what their level of exposure is. So, the regulators will do their job,” Ms. Sitharaman said at a news briefing in Mumbai.
The Finance Minister also swatted away questions about the Adani Group pulling back a fresh sale of shares in the wake of the stock crash, saying, “How many times have FPOs (Follow on Public Offers) withdrawn from this country and how many times has the image of India suffered because of that? And how many times have the FPOs not come back?”
Her statements came after the US short-seller Hindenburg Research, which makes money by betting on shares falling, accused the Adani Group last week of improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation, while also raising concerns over high debt levels.
The capitalization of Adani group plunged to 1 billion from 7 billion after Hidenberg in its report accused the company of tax evasions. The firm lost around $18 billion in 10 days , thatcomes to a 50 per cent decline. However, the conglomerate has denied the accusations, saying the short-seller’s allegation of stock manipulation has “no basis” and stems from an ignorance of Indian law.