It was the biggest single-day rout the US$189 billion Adani Group conglomerate has faced, dwarfing the hit it took from a US short seller\u2019s allegations of corporate malfeasance over a year ago.<\/b>
\nFor Gautam Adani, an underwhelming election win for Narendra Modi\u2019s party is worse than a short-seller attack.
The Indian tycoon\u2019s wealth tumbled by almost US$25 billion on Tuesday, the biggest one-day loss for an Asian billionaire ever, after the Modi-led political alliance failed to deliver the landslide electoral victory predicted by exit polls.
All 10 Adani Group stocks plummeted, wiping out almost US$45 billion in group market value. It was the biggest single-day rout the US$189 billion conglomerate has faced, dwarfing the hit from Hindenburg Research\u2019s allegations of corporate malfeasance over a year ago.
Adani\u2019s wealth wipeout was the fourth-largest one-day decline on record caused by market swings, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The steep loss, exceeded only by Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, toppled Adani as Asia\u2019s richest person and left his fortune at US$97.5 billion.
On Monday, bullish exit polls for Modi had boosted the Adani Group\u2019s market value by US$20 billion.
Adani\u2019s rapid descent from one of the year\u2019s biggest wealth gainers is a stark reminder that investors see his conglomerate\u2019s fortunes as being tied to Modi\u2019s mandate as India\u2019s leader. The Adani Group and its founder have maintained that they have no improper relationship with the government and can execute their ambitious infrastructure projects under any administration.
Nevertheless, Adani knows he\u2019s a heatscore in India\u2019s election, with opposition leaders frequently invoking his name at campaign rallies and Modi himself unexpectedly accusing his rivals of receiving illegal cash from the billionaire at one point in the long campaign.
A coterie of advisers have asked the tycoon to avoid posting anything on social media about initial electoral results, said a person familiar with the matter, counselling him to say quiet until the new federal government is formed.
The Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both Modi and Adani hail from the western Indian state of Gujarat and have risen in tandem, with the tycoon\u2019s sprawling business built on a close alignment with Modi\u2019s nation-building priorities in infrastructure, green energy, defence and digital services.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd. led the pack\u2019s losses, with shares plunging 21 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. nosedived 19 per cent on Tuesday.
While this was the steepest single-day stock drop for the Adani group, overall losses in the wake of the Hindenburg attack last year were bigger, crossing US$150 billion at their peak. The group had regained almost all of that value through Monday\u2019s close.
More broadly, India\u2019s NSE Nifty 50 Index tumbled 5.9 per cent Tuesday, its worst day in more than four years as investors fretted that a slim victory for the Modi-led coalition would hinder the new government\u2019s ability to push through reforms.<\/p>\n