Business

Hindenburg-inflicted losses still weigh heavily on Adani stocks

About four months after US short seller Hindenburg Research shook Indian financial markets with a bombshell report on the Adani Group, the conglomerate’s stocks are finding it hard to shake off the impact.

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While two of Adani’s 10 stocks have bounced back strongly, a full recovery to pre-Hindenburg levels looks a ways away.

The group’s market value is still down more than $100 billion since Hindenburg’s Jan. 24 report, which claimed that billionaire Gautam Adani’s empire was “pulling the largest con in corporate history.” The rout had reached $153 billion at one point.

“Adani stocks have seen a readjustment of their valuations. The froth that existed prior to Hindenburg has gone away and won’t come back,” said Abhay Agarwal, founder and fund manager at Mumbai-based investment firm Piper Serica Advisors Ltd.

“While investors are less concerned about governance issues at the group now than they were in the aftermath of the Hindenburg report, it is unlikely to erase all the losses over the next three, six or even 12 months.”

Overall, the median decline in 10 Adani stocks over four months stands at 23 percent. That’s more than a 19 percent median loss over a similar period for shares of some other key companies targeted by Hindenburg since 2020, including Adani.

The Indian group has been one of the most high-profile targets for Nathan Anderson’s company, which has had a run of often-successful bets from electric-vehicle maker Nikola Corp. and Icahn Enterprises LP.

The short seller’s attack has left the group reassessing its grand ambitions after it racked up one of India’s heftiest debt loads to fund fresh areas of growth.

Adani — who has been closely associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nation-building efforts and has seen his conglomerate witness explosive growth since the leader came into power — is dialing back on ambitions to dive further into aluminum, steel and road projects, Bloomberg News reported in March, citing people familiar with the group’s inner workings.

Adani has vigorously denied Hindenburg’s allegations and maintained it is fully compliant with disclosures required under local laws.

The group didn’t respond to an email seeking comments for this story. Hindenburg also didn’t reply to emailed requests for comment by Bloomberg News.

Much of the Adani stocks’ revival can be attributed to a strong backing by star emerging-market investor Rajiv Jain, who serves as chief investment officer at GQG Partners LLC.

The firm helped stem the rout when it bought shares in four Adani units from a family trust, and has added to its holdings further. Sentiment also got a lift after a panel appointed by India’s top court said it found no regulatory failure or signs of price manipulation in Adani stocks.

On their part, the tycoon, his family and firms have been prepaying some debt, buying back some bonds and holding investor roadshows in a bid to restore confidence. In a report Monday, the group said its key debt metrics have improved.

Crown Jewel

Leading the rebound in the equity market are cash-generating businesses that have some of Adani group’s most lucrative assets.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. — touted by market watchers as the conglomerate’s crown jewel — in late May became the first group stock to briefly erase all the losses since Hindenburg’s attack.

All 21 sell-side analysts tracked by Bloomberg have a buy rating on the stock. Adani Power Ltd. is roughly 6 percent away from reclaiming lost ground. The company India’s largest private coal-based energy producer — saw its profit more than double in the year ended March.

Down more than 80 percent since Jan. 24, Adani Total Gas Ltd. has borne the brunt of the selloff in Adani shares. Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. is about 30 percent below its pre-Hindenburg level. On the debt side, Adani Ports’ note due in July 2024 is the only one among the group’s 15 dollar bonds to have recouped all losses.

In its report, Hindenburg said it had taken a short position in Adani Group companies through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.

After campaigning against Adani, Hindenburg has bet against Jack Dorsey-led Block Inc. and Icahn Enterprises, which has billionaire Carl Icahn as its chairman. Shares of the latter plummeted 20 percent after Anderson’s firm took a short position — with losses extending to 56 percent as of June 2 close.

India’s broader stock market, meanwhile, seems to have put the Adani-Hindenburg saga behind. The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index has rallied about 7 percent this quarter and is close to surpassing an all-time high reached in early December.

Investors in Adani stocks are awaiting the findings of a probe by India’s markets regulator into Hindenburg’s claims. The nation’s top court has asked for the investigation to be closed by Aug. 14. The regulator is also proposing to seek more disclosures from foreign funds with large holdings in local stocks or companies, following criticism about lack of oversight over inflows into sprawling conglomerates such as the Adani Group.

For now, investments from Jain of GQG Partners appear to be a key catalyst for Adani stocks. He said last week that GQG values Adani-related holdings at about $3.5 billion after a recovery in share prices from post-Hindenburg lows.

“We are certainly interested in investing further in Adani,” GQG Partners’ Jain told Bloomberg News in an interview last week. “But it depends on a lot of things, including pricing. Nothing is written on stone.”

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Business

Almarai signs multiple agreements to localize jobs through training and recruitment programs

Almarai signed a cooperation memorandum with the Food Industries Polytechnic, the
Transport General Authority, and the Saudi Logistics Academy to localize jobs in the
food and beverages sector through training and rehabilitation programs ending in
employment. This came within the first international conference on the labor market,
organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on 13 – 14
December 2023 at the King Abdulaziz Convention Center in Riyadh.

‘These agreements are part of Almarai’s corporate program for the social responsibility
to achieve localization in the food industry sector, which is one of the top priorities of the
comprehensive strategic plans in Almarai, especially since the company is one of the
largest working environments in the kingdom, with more than 9,000 Saudi employees,
including more than 900 Saudi female employees.”Fahad Aldrees, Chief Human
Resources Officer of Almarai, said.

He added that the agreements signed to train and qualify young people are part of the
integrated initiatives and training and rehabilitation programs for national human
resources in Almarai. He pointed out that the company provided about half a million
employee training hours during 2022, raising its retention rate to 90% during 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy
company, and the largest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle
East. Almarai was ranked among LinkedIn’s top 15 Saudi companies for professional
career development for 2022.

Business

SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA Bank and continues to write its success story

a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank, announced today its new brand identity: AMINA Bank AG. The group operates
globally from its regulated hubs in Zug, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, offering its clients traditional and crypto banking services.
SEBA Bank made history in 2019 by becoming one of the first FINMA-regulated institutions to provide crypto banking services. This rebrand marks a new chapter for the company, which has proudly been in operation for more than four years. AMINA Bank is inspired by the same trailblazing ambition to lead the way for its clients and to write its own future as a Swiss-
regulated crypto bank offering services to its traditional and crypto savvy clients around the globe. The name ‘AMINA’ stems from the term ‘transAMINAtion’, meaning transference of one compound to another. AMINA is a brand driven by perpetual change, bringing together the various ‘compounds’ of traditional, digital, and crypto banking to unlock new potential and
growth for our clients. This vision of change represents the transformation of our clients’ financial future. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA, said: “We are delighted to introduce the world to our new brand identity. While we say goodbye to the SEBA name, we remain forever proud of the achievements made by the group under the former brand. “Our brand signifies a new era in the company’s growth and strategy; we are a key player in crypto banking and are here to define the future of finance. With our client-focused approach, our years of traversing traditional and crypto finance, we offer a platform for investors to build
wealth safely and under the highest regulatory standards.” “We are grateful to be encouraged by our supportive and committed investors who have been very helpful, supporting the growth of the company. We thank our employees in all the regions
for their dedication and client focus. As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.” Current clients of AMINA Bank (formerly SEBA Bank) will be unaffected by the rebrand other than encountering the new name; all operations will be business as usual across the board. The branch office based in Abu Dhabi and the subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will subsequently apply for a name change to align with the head office in Zug.

Business

Uptime Appoints Mustapha Louni Chief Business Officer

Uptime Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Mustapha Louni to the position of Chief Business Officer, a role specifically created to drive strategic leadership and client success. In this new role, Mr. Louni will assume responsibility for the global Uptime sales and marketing organizations and drive overall business value for all Uptime clients. He will retain his existing responsibilities overseeing operations in the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. In this elevated capacity, Mr. Louni is poised to play a pivotal role in driving Uptime’s next phase of global expansion through strategic initiatives to enhance market awareness of the dramatically expanding global service lines and delivery capabilities of Uptime that uniquely support the global data center industry in its pursuit of ever higher performance through elevated availability, resiliency, sustainability, and cyber-security of digital infrastructure. Louni’s appointment renews and expands Uptime

Institute 39;s 30-year commitment to advancing excellence in the data center sector on a global scale. “Today we are experiencing the next phase of the one-time, planetary transformation from analog to digital. This unprecedented, once-in-a-generation growth in data center demand is primarily driven by continuing cloud adoption, the new promise of AI, and the demonstrable fact
that hybrid digital infrastructure is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” said Martin McCarthy, CEO, Uptime Institute. “These complex and nuanced market demands require a visionary talent like Mustapha Louni. He is someone who cannot only deftly manage specific aspects of the business but also remain ahead of accelerating changes and trends. He continues to earn client
trust and respect by timely delivery on demanding commitments while he also inspires and energizes colleagues and clients alike. I am delighted to announce Mr. Louni’s new position and know that he will continue to expand the impact that he has already brought to Uptime since his arrival.” In 2014, Mr. Louni joined the Uptime organization in the United Arab Emirates, leveraging his extensive experience from roles at Panduit and Schneider Electric in Paris and Dubai. As the company’s first commercial resource in the Middle East and Africa region, Mr. Louni played a pivotal role in expanding Uptime’s presence. Within a year, he successfully established what became and remains Uptime’s fastest growing regional office. Under his leadership, Uptime has
extended his impressive trajectory of growth in MEA to the Asia-Pacific regions, augmenting the Uptime workforce with dedicated team members spanning more than a dozen countries across these regions. A new Uptime office has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, further fortifying the company’s ability to meet its commitment to sustained
growth and excellence and serve clients in critical, accelerating markets for digital infrastructure.

Uptime Institute began development of its proprietary and now globally recognized Tier Standards and its Tier Certifications 30 years ago to ensure that the mission critical computing needs of all organizations could be met with confidence and understood by executive management. Since that time, Uptime Tier Certification as well as other Uptime offerings including assessments and awards in digital infrastructure for ensuring business performance in areas of management and operations, risk and resilience, sustainability, and more recently cyber- security have gained global adoption. Uptime’s expanding success is based on delivering a
unique business service that is based upon unparalleled engineering excellence and technical mastery, while remaining vendor independent and technology agnostic.