Will meet Adani Group for clarification on crisis: LIC Chairman

Mumbai: The LIC officials will soon meet the management of Adani Group to seek clarification on the crisis the conglomerate is currently facing.

MR Kumar, the chairman of India’s leading public sector insurer, said on Thursday that LIC wanted to understand what is happening in the market and in the Adani Group.

The Opposition parties criticised LIC's investment in the Adani Group firms' stock after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the Gautam Adani-led group of manipulating share prices.

"Though our investor team has already sought clarifications from the Adanis, our top management could contact them yet as we have been busy preparing the results. We are soon going to call them to meet us and explain. We want to understand what is happening in the market and in the group," the chairman told reporters at the earnings conference on Thursday.

"We'll be calling them in sometime soon to know how are they managing the whole crisis," Kumar added.

Kumar, however, refused to give a timeline of the meeting between LIC and Adani group officials.

Since the publication of the Hindenberg report on January 24, three days before the launch of the group's flagship Adani Enterprises' ₹ 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO), the value of the group companies' stocks have lost more than USD 100 billion or about 60 per cent from their January 24 value.

The FPO was fully subscribed but called off a day later by the management.

PTI with minor edits