India’s main opposition lawmakers have launched protests against some state-owned companies over the Adani Group’s crisis. The Adani Group’s seven publicly traded companies underwent another sale that pushed market losses to $112 billion in less than two weeks. MPs protested outside several offices of the state-run insurance companies Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday.
At one of the protest sites in Mumbai, people held up banners with the words “Save SBI”, television footage showed. The crisis was triggered by United States-based short-seller Hindenburg Research’s January 24 report that accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation, unsustainable debt, and use of tax havens. The Adani Group, one of India’s top conglomerates, has rejected the criticism and denied wrongdoing in detailed rebuttals, but that has failed to arrest the unabated fall in its shares.
The Reserve Bank of India said on Friday that the country’s banking system is resilient and stable. A day later, India’s market regulator said the country’s financial markets remained stable and continued to function transparently and efficiently. The SBI said on Friday it had no concerns about its involvement with the Adani Group, but said further funding for the project would be “evaluated on its own merit.” India’s divestment chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey told Reuters on Friday that LIC’s shareholders and customers need not worry about his involvement with the Adani group.
