NEW DELHI: Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has said that his company has not entered any business without bidding. Adani was responding to the criticism that his company has been getting easy access to all businesses.
“The Adani Group has a philosophy that nothing should be touched without a bid. Be it ports, airports, roads, power houses, not one business has been acquired without bidding. It’s like questioning the one who stands first in the exam,” said Gautam Adani in a TV interview on Saturday.
The interviewer was referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s continuous jibe at the government at the centre for allowing Adani to bid for all kinds of assets. On the question of easier access to loans from banks and high debt levels, Gautam Adani said all the loans taken by the group are rated at par with the sovereign rating.
“Adani Group has such a discipline and rating, that in my 25 years we have never delayed payment or defaulted on interest, and more so, whenever we need funds for any development activity, everyone is ready to lend to us,” he says.
He also clarified that for an infrastructure project, the company puts 30-40% of its own money (equity) and the rest is borrowed from banks. When asked if access to loans have been easier after the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, Gautam Adani says that before 2013 they used to take 80% of the money from Indian banks, but today that stands at 35%.
“After that, we penetrated the international market with a global rating. On the global front, no one lends based on what someone says, they purely lend seeing your rating and governance. Based on our company’s ratings and disclosures, one of our companies has got an award for worldwide 3rd ESG level. This is an absolutely baseless allegation. I understand he needs to say certain things politically, but there’s no friction between the lenders and us borrowers,” says Adani.