LIC increases stake in 4 Adani firms in Q4 FY23; but cut in 3

Despite an adverse report by U.S.-based short seller Hindenburg Research, India's largest insurer Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) increased its stake in four Adani group company stocks in the January-March quarter of 2022 but reduced in three, as per the data available on stock exchanges.

LIC upped its stake in four Adani group companies -- Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, Adani Enterprises, and Adani Transmission -- while cutting its shareholding in three companies i.e. Ambuja Cements, ACC, and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone.

The data shows LIC's stake in Adani's flagship company Adani Enterprises rose to 4.25% in the quarter ending March 2023 from 4.23% in the previous quarter. Similarly, the stake in Adani Green Energy grew to 1.35% in March from 1.28% in December. Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission saw LIC's shareholding rise to 6.02% and 3.68% from 5.96% and 3.65%, respectively.

In ACC and Ambuja, LIC reduced its stake to 6.29% and 5.13%, from 6.33% and 6.41%, respectively. In the case of APSEZ, the overall stake was trimmed to 9.12% as of March 31, 2023, from 9.14% as of the quarter ending December 2022.

The release of the Hindenburg report on January 24, 2023, had sent the Adani group stocks on a downward spiral, eroding more than ₹12 lakh crore of value in a month after the report. Howevber, the group entities regained momentum after the company pre-paid share-backed financing to ease inverstors concerns about the financial health of the conglomerate.

As per the latest data, the value of LIC's total holding in the Adani group stocks stands at ₹38,846 crore, more than half of what it was in December 2022 at ₹82,970 crore.

Soon after the release of the Hindenburg report, LIC said its exposure to Adani Group is 0.97% of its total assets under management (AUM) at book value.

Besides, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in March said in Parliament that LIC's debt exposure in Adani firms fell to ₹6,183 crore as of March 5, 2023, from ₹6,347 crore on December 31, 2022. Of the entire exposure of ₹6,183 crore, LIC's exposure was highest at ₹5,389 crore in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone.

Meanwhile, most of the listed entities of billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani group closed lower on Thursday, with Adani Total Gas, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Transmission settling in the negative territory at 2.73%, 0.048% and 0.91%, respectively. While shares of the conglomerate's flagship entity Adani Enterprises dipped 0.048%, Adani Wilmar and Adani Power declined 0.49% and 1.84%, respectively. Among others, Adani Ports & SEZ surged 0.51%, while newly acquired cement entities Ambuja Cement and ACC were down 1.22% and up 0.56%, respectively. The share price of NDTV soared up to 2.11% on the domestic bourses.