Adani Enterprises removed from Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

As allegations of fraud by the Adani Group in Hindenburg report left investors stressed, Nifty50 stock Adani Enterprises has been removed from Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.

"Adani Enterprises will be removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices following a media and stakeholder analysis triggered by allegations of accounting fraud," Dow Jones said in a statement.

It said the changes in the indices will come into effect before the market opens on February 7.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices are float-adjusted market capitalization weighted indices that measure the performance of companies selected with ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance & Economic) criteria as identified by S&P Global through the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). It represents the top 10% of the largest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global BMI based on long-term ESG criteria.

Adani stocks have been in a freefall and so have eroded over 40% of investor wealth ever since American short-seller made multiple allegations in its report last week.

With a view to safeguard investors from the sharp volatility in stocks of Adani Group companies, the National Stock Exchange has moved Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, and Ambuja Cements under the short-term additional surveillance measure (ASM) framework.

SEBI is also said to be examining the crash in the shares of Adani Group companies to look into any possible irregularities in the FPO. According to reports, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also sought details from banks on their exposure to Adani Group companies, most of which are highly leveraged.

Despite all the troubles, unprecedented in the history of the Ahmedabad-based conglomerate spread across ports to energy and even FMCG, Adani has maintained that the fundamentals of his companies are strong.

"Our balance sheet is healthy and assets, robust. Our EBITDA levels and cash flows have been very strong and we have an impeccable track record of fulfilling our debt obligations. We will continue to focus on long term value creation and growth will be managed by internal accruals," he said after calling off the fully-subscribed FPO of Adani Enterprises in a surprise announcement last night.