Indian authorities have sought to calm investors after the sale of Adani Group company shares amid fraud allegations added to volatility in the country’s stock market.
Without naming Adani, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said it was aware of “unusual price movements in the shares of the business conglomerate” and would investigate and take “appropriate” action “if any information comes to SEBI.”
“SEBI has consistently followed this approach on entity-level issues and will continue to do so,” he said.
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that “regulators will do their job”.
“Our macroeconomic fundamentals, our economic picture – it’s not there [it] has been affected,” he said.
Shares in companies belonging to the Adani Group, the industrial conglomerate owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, have lost around $100bn in value since short seller Hindenburg Research last month alleged that the group had been involved in stock manipulation and fraud.
Adani has vehemently denied the allegations.
The sale forced the tycoon to cancel a $2.4bn stake sale in flagship company Adani Enterprises and sparked fears of wider contagion in the Indian market. Shares such as Adani Enterprises and Adani Green Energy have lost around 50 percent since Hindenburg’s allegations were published on January 24.
Saturday’s statements came a day after the National Stock Exchange of India decided to increase controls on trading in the group of companies Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Ambuja Cements, toughening the limit requirements to curb short selling.
Analysts said the sell-off in the group’s 10 listed companies dented India’s impressive Sensex index, which was about 1 percent over the same period.
India’s government dismissed concerns that the group’s concerns could harm state-owned banks and insurance companies, which have built up exposure to Adani’s companies.
Investors and opposition parties have been demanding for days that the government clarify whether it is investigating Hindenburg’s allegations, demanding authorities protect the tycoon because of his ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The opposition Congress party called for a nationwide protest against Adani on Monday.
India’s finance ministry said in 2021 that SEBI was examining some of Adani’s companies for compliance, but authorities have not clarified the status of the investigation.
In its statement, SEBI said it “provides a set of publicly available supervisory measures . . . to address excessive volatility in certain stocks”.