Adani Group To Fund $70 Billion In India's Green Transition
Tuesday, 02 August 2022, 19:14 IST
Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, during Adani Enterprises'annual share holders' meeting, said the group is investing around $70 billion in facilitating India’s green transition. The business magnate says the year 2021-22 was another breakout year for the group, which is one of the largest conglomerates in India. He says the group never walked away from investing in India, and never slowed its investments. “We believe our scale, our diversified business, and our track record of performance position us very strongly to continue to perform well in a variety of market conditions”, he adds. Notably, the Adani group is one of the world's largest developers of solar power. Gautam says the company's strength in renewables will empower it enormously to make ‘green hydrogen’ the fuel of the future. The tycoon had recently over taken Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the fourth richest person on the planet. The Gujarat-based billionaire's net worth jumped $36 billion this year, making him the biggest gainer year-to-date, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Adani’s fortunes stood at $113 billion as of July 22nd, 2022 – $1 billion more than the net worth of Gates.
“We are leading the race to turn India from a country over-reliant on import of oil and gas, to a country that might one day become a net exporter of clean energy”, says Gautam. Apart from the global renewable energies portfolio, the group has also become the largest airport operator in India, adding it's also developing aerotropolises around them. On the recently-concluded Holcim deal, Gautam says this is a classic example of the group's adjacency-based business model at work. In May, the Adani group had entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of Switzerland-based Holcim’s entire stake in two cement companies Ambuja Cements and ACC. The value for the Holcim stake and open offer consideration for Ambuja Cements and ACC is around $10.5 billion. The company is now the second largest cement manufacturer in India. The combined market capitalization of the group this year has exceeded $200 billion, says Gautam. “Our rising market capitalization has been supported by a robust and sustained growth in our cash flows”, he adds.
On the group companies' growth, Gautam says its utility portfolio grew by 26 percent in FY22; transport and logistics by 19 percent; FMCG 34 percent; and Adani Enterprises, its incubator business, by 45 percent. Gautam says he believes India is one the greatest countries for an entrepreneur to learn, develop and flourish. “Like I have said in the past - the largest middle class that will ever exist will be Indian”, adds the tycoon. But he adds that a crucial piece of this jigsaw will be a better-trained, better educated, healthier, and technologically nimble workforce. Gautam also talks about the charitable works done by the Adani Foundation. The group in June decided to contribute Rs.60,000 crore towards charitable activities related to healthcare, education, and skill development, focussing especially on rural India. This is touted to be one of the biggest donations by a business family in India.
“We are leading the race to turn India from a country over-reliant on import of oil and gas, to a country that might one day become a net exporter of clean energy”, says Gautam. Apart from the global renewable energies portfolio, the group has also become the largest airport operator in India, adding it's also developing aerotropolises around them. On the recently-concluded Holcim deal, Gautam says this is a classic example of the group's adjacency-based business model at work. In May, the Adani group had entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of Switzerland-based Holcim’s entire stake in two cement companies Ambuja Cements and ACC. The value for the Holcim stake and open offer consideration for Ambuja Cements and ACC is around $10.5 billion. The company is now the second largest cement manufacturer in India. The combined market capitalization of the group this year has exceeded $200 billion, says Gautam. “Our rising market capitalization has been supported by a robust and sustained growth in our cash flows”, he adds.
Apart from the global renewable energies portfolio, the group has also become the largest airport operator in India, adding it's also developing aerotro polises around them
On the group companies' growth, Gautam says its utility portfolio grew by 26 percent in FY22; transport and logistics by 19 percent; FMCG 34 percent; and Adani Enterprises, its incubator business, by 45 percent. Gautam says he believes India is one the greatest countries for an entrepreneur to learn, develop and flourish. “Like I have said in the past - the largest middle class that will ever exist will be Indian”, adds the tycoon. But he adds that a crucial piece of this jigsaw will be a better-trained, better educated, healthier, and technologically nimble workforce. Gautam also talks about the charitable works done by the Adani Foundation. The group in June decided to contribute Rs.60,000 crore towards charitable activities related to healthcare, education, and skill development, focussing especially on rural India. This is touted to be one of the biggest donations by a business family in India.
