Gautam Adani’s son Karan elevated as MD in this Adani Group firm

The Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Wednesday elevated chief executive officer (CEO) Karan Adani as the company’s new managing director. His father Gautam Adani has been re-designated as the company’s executive chairman.

“APSEZ, India’s largest ports and logistics company, has elevated CEO Mr Karan Adani to the role of Managing Director, a position which was held by Mr Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group,” PTI quoted a statement released by the Adani Group firm.

The company further said its board has also approved the appointment of Ashwani Gupta, former global Chief Operating Officer at Nissan Motors, as the new Chief Executive Officer of APSEZ.

Karan Adani had joined his father’s business conglomerate in 2009 at the Mundra Port and rose to become its CEO in 2016.

In another development, the APSEZ said it will raise up to $600.6 million by selling non-convertible debentures. However, the company did not specify how it will use the proceeds.

Last December, Adani Ports had raised $600 million by issuing bonds and then used the proceeds to refinance its debt. The company’s cash and cash equivalents were 72.90 billion rupees as of Sept. 30, 2023, while its net debt was roughly 387 billion rupees.

Adani Group companies have been raising funds for capital expenditure since early 2023, and have plans to spend seven trillion rupees over the next decade on infrastructure projects.

Big Supreme Court relief to Adani Group

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations against the Adani Group. The apex court said that Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will continue its probe as there is no ground to prove that the market regulator was ‘lackadaisical’.

The court said it can’t enter into the domain of the regulatory regime and the report of US-based firm Hindenburg or anything like that can’t become the basis of ordering a separate probe.