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India regulator probing some Adani offshore deals for possible rule violations: Sources

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 India’s market regulator is investigating possible violation of “related party” transaction rules in the Adani Group’s dealings with at least three offshore entities that have links to the brother of the conglomerate’s founder, two people said.

The three entities allegedly entered into several investment transactions with unlisted units of the ports-to-power conglomerate founded by billionaire Gautam Adani over the last 13 years, said the sources with direct knowledge of the matter. 

Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani’s brother, is either a beneficial owner, director or has links with those three offshore entities, said the two sources, adding the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is probing if lack of that disclosure violated “related party transaction” rules.

Under Indian laws, direct relatives, promoter groups and subsidiaries of listed companies are considered related parties.

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A promoter group is defined as an entity that has a large shareholding in a listed company and can influence company policy.

Transactions between such entities have to be disclosed in regulatory and public filings and require shareholder approval above a specified threshold. Violations typically attract monetary fines.

An e-mail to SEBI requesting comment was not answered. SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch declined to comment on the Adani investigations at a news conference on Wednesday.

An Adani Group spokesperson said Vinod Adani is a member of the Adani family and is part of the promoter group, but he does not hold any managerial position in any of the listed Adani entities or their subsidiaries.

“This fact, like all other material information required to be reported, has been disclosed to the regulatory authorities in the past and also as and when required,” the spokesperson added, without commenting on the regulatory probe into offshore entities.

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Vinod Adani could not be reached for comment. Requests for comment sent to his holding company in Dubai, Adani Global Investment DMCC, were not responded to.

The probe comes after US short-seller Hindenburg Research’s Jan 24 report alleging improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by Adani Group, among other things – charges it has denied.

Hindenburg’s report eroded more than US$100 billion in the value of shares in Adani group of companies.

India’s Supreme Court asked SEBI in March to investigate the Adani Group for any lapses related to public shareholding, related party rules or regulatory disclosures.

SEBI’s investigation into Adani’s possible ‘related party’ transactions with offshore entities with links to Vinod Adani has not been reported before.

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While SEBI investigations are continuing, top regulatory officials are due to give a status report to a court-appointed panel on Sunday, the two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as investigations are private.

“DISCLOSURE VIOLATIONS”

Hindenburg in its January report alleged that Vinod Adani entities have collectively moved “billions of dollars” into Adani’s publicly listed and private entities, often without required disclosure of the related party nature of the deals.

The Adani Group in a 413-page response to the allegations had said all transactions entered into by it with entities who qualify as “related parties” under Indian laws and accounting standards have been duly disclosed.

The three offshore entities with links to Vinod Adani being probed for “related party” transactions are Mauritius-based Krunal Trade and Investments and Gardenia Trade and Investments, and Electrogen Infra in Dubai.

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There was no response from Krunal, Gardenia and Electrogen Infra to emails requesting comment.

While the sources said that other similar transactions are also under regulatory examination, Reuters could not ascertain the names of other entities and their possible violation of “related party” transaction rules.

SEBI suspects there were “disclosure violations” on some of those transactions, said one of the two sources.

If proven, it could lead to monetary penalties and the matter may be referred to India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for transactions that are beyond SEBI jurisdiction, the source said.

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China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

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China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

China has won a nearly three-year-long dispute with Australia at the World Trade Organization over tariffs on steel products that began during a low point of bilateral relations between the countries, and Australia’s trade minister said Wednesday his government accepted the ruling.

Beijing took its complaint to the WTO in June 2021 over Australia’s extra duties on railway wheels, wind towers and stainless steel sinks imported from China. Trade in these products was worth 62 million Australian dollars ($40.4 million) in 2022.

On Tuesday, the WTO panel adjudicating the case in Geneva, Switzerland, found that Australia’s investigating authority, the Anti-Dumping Commission, had acted inconsistently with some articles of the anti-dumping agreement.

Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell said in a statement Wednesday that Canberra accepted the WTO’s ruling and supported a rules-based trading system.

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“Australia will engage with China and take steps to implement the panel’s findings,” Farrell said.

“Australia remains committed to a fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system so that the rights and obligations of all WTO members can be enforced,” he added.

They fled kibbutzim after Hamas attacked. Now, many Israelis must decide whether to go back.
Trade tariffs have been a hot topic between Beijing and Canberra in recent years after China imposed a raft of sanctions on Australian goods in 2020 during the most recent nadir in the bilateral relationship. It is estimated that the tariffs cost the Australian economy 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion).

Most of the tariffs have since been lifted as the relationship thawed, but tariffs on wine, rock lobster and some abattoirs still remain.

In April, Australia suspended a complaint to the WTO in a bid to reopen the Chinese market to Australian barley, which had been one of the products targeted by the tariffs and was widely seen as the new Australian government’s attempts to repair relations with Beijing.

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The Australian government has also halted another WTO dispute against China over sanctions on Australian wine worth about 1.1 billion Australian dollars ($720 million) in exchange for a review by China to be completed by the end of March. 

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GameStop shares fall as video game retailer faces competition, weak spending

GameStop shares fall as video game retailer faces competition, weak spending

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GameStop shares fall as video game retailer faces competition, weak spending

GameStop’s (GME.N), opens new tab shares fell more than 14% on Wednesday, as the brick-and-mortar video game retailer reported a decline in fourth-quarter revenue on the back of a spending slowdown and rising competition from e-commerce firms.

The Grapevine, Texas-based company also said late on Tuesday that it had cut an unspecified number of jobs, joining Japan’s Sony (6758.T), opens new tab and Electronic Arts (EA.O), opens new tab in a bid to reduce costs as economic uncertainty hits discretionary spending.

GameStop is set to lose more than $700 million in its market capitalization if the losses hold.

As of Tuesday, GameStop’s stock had fallen nearly 12% this year, as the retail and ecommerce environment remains intensely competitive for the company, which was once a mainstay of American malls.

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The company has a total of 4,169 stores as of Feb. 3, compared with 4,413 in January last year.

GameStop was hailed as the pioneer of Wall Street’s so-called meme stocks. The stock’s price rose as much as 100 times over several months in 2021, largely on the sentiment of individual buyers connected through the Reddit (RDDT.N), opens new tab community forum WallStreetBets.

“No sooner has the meme stock craze been resurrected by Donald Trump’s media company enjoying a big share price boost, it’s somewhat ironic that the grandfather of meme has fallen flat on its face,” AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O), opens new tab rose more than 12% on Wednesday, a day after its stellar Nasdaq debut.

GameStop’s first adjusted per share profit in four quarters also failed to lift investors’ spirits. The company’s earnings were 22 cents per share on an adjusted basis for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 3, after breaking-even in the third quarter.

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Exclusive: First Quantum execs discuss investment, disputed copper with Chinese officials

Exclusive: First Quantum execs discuss investment, disputed copper with Chinese officials

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Carnival Corp (CCL.N), opens new tab, (CCL.L), opens new tab raised its annual profit forecast on Wednesday, betting on a record year of bookings for its cruises as the industry has its “revenge travel” moment.

Cruise companies are experiencing all-time high booking rates as travelers switch to cheaper sea-borne experiences over expensive land-based alternatives such as booking hotels or flights, allowing operators to hike prices.

However, U.S.-listed shares of the company, which owns the Cunard and Holland America Line cruise lines, reversed course from premarket and were last down about 3%. They have risen about 94% in the last 12 months.

“This has been a fantastic start to the year,” CEO Josh Weinstein said in a statement.

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“We delivered another strong quarter that outperformed guidance on every measure, while concluding a monumental wave season that achieved all-time high booking volumes at considerably higher prices.”

The company’s first-quarter revenue rose to $5.41 billion, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations.

Bookings for the rest of 2024 remain the best year on record with total customer deposits reaching a first-quarter all-time high of $7 billion, the company said.

Carnival has estimated an impact of up to $10 million on both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for the full year following the Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on Tuesday.

The company said in January that strong demand trends during the year were expected to offset the impact it was seeing due to the re-routing of ships in the Red Sea region.

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The cruise operator now expects adjusted profit per share of 98 cents in 2024, compared with its prior forecast of 93 cents. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $1 per share, according to LSEG data.

Adjusted cruise costs, excluding fuel in constant currency, were up 7.3% in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier. 

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