New York-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group in a Jan. 24 report of stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens that it said obscured the extent of Adani family stock ownership in group firms. The Indian conglomerate, which has denied any wrongdoing, has since seen more than $130 billion wiped off the value of its seven listed firms. (Reporting by Lewis Jackson Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
praveen.menon.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: @Journopraveen)) By Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - An Australian pension fund
client of GQG Partners has asked the U.S. boutique
investment firm for more information about its nearly $1.9
billion investment in the embattled Indian Adani group.
GQG Partners bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani
group companies, marking the first major investment in the
Indian conglomerate since a short-seller's critical report
sparked a stock rout.
The U.S. firm manages money on behalf of at least four major
Australian pension funds with a total of A$563 billion under
management. GQG's investment could expose these funds to Adani
at a time when major investors, including Norway's sovereign
wealth fund, are selling the stock.
Cbus Super, with A$71 billion under management, has a A$243
million emerging markets mandate with GQG Partners. A
spokesperson told Reuters the fund is working to get a clear
picture of its Adani exposure.
"Adani entities had not been part of the portfolio, but we
are currently engaging with the external manager who has
recently made acquisitions in this area," they said.
GQG Partners Australia and New Zealand managing director
Laird Abernethy said in a statement the fund manager had reached
out to all its institutional investors to explain the rationale
for its purchase.
AustralianSuper, which has an external mandate with GQG
Partners, will be exposed to the four Adani Group companies
following the deal, according to a source familiar with the
matter.
The $258 billion fund had no investments in Adani Group
companies as of June 2022, according to a review of the most
recent holdings disclosures.
A spokesperson for the A$67 billion Rest Super said the
pension fund was aware of the transaction and "currently it has
not impacted our portfolio."
Shares of Australia-listed GQG Partners closed down 3% on
Friday after news of the investment was made public. The wider
bourse edged up 0.4%.
"There's a very high level of scepticism about what that
stake means, whether they've understood the risk they're taking
on," said Jun Bei Liu, who manages the A$1.2 billion Tribeca
Alpha Plus Fund.
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