Asia’s richest man eyes growth beyond India with infra projects

GAUTAM Adani, the richest Asian tycoon, is planning to bolster his empire’s presence outside India with infrastructure projects as he sees his conglomerate’s growth gathering momentum.

“Several foreign governments are now approaching us to work in their geographies and help build their infrastructure,” Adani said in a virtual address to shareholders at the annual general meeting of Adani Enterprises on Tuesday (Jul26). “Therefore, in 2022, we also laid the foundation to seek a broader expansion beyond India’s boundaries.”

The billionaire’s global ambitions have been bolstered by recent successes, including winning a port deal in Israel and luring investments from overseas investors, including TotalEnergies, for its clean energy business. The group boosted its domestic infrastructure footprint recently by acquiring the Indian operations of Swiss building-materials firm Holcim, a deal that makes Adani the second-biggest cement maker in the country. 

Adani hailed the country’s - and his own group’s - achievements in higher investments in green energy, despite recent challenges posed by the pandemic and the global energy crisis. India saw capital investments in renewable energy jump 125 per cent in the year ended March, Adani said, adding 75 per cent of the country’s incremental power demand is expected to be met with clean power over time.

Yet, while discussing achievements in clean energy installations, the billionaire avoided mentioning coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, which has seen a demand rebound off late across many countries, including India, boosting Adani’s coal trading and mining operations.

“While we may look back and feel content, it is only now that we are gathering real momentum,” Adani told shareholders. BLOOMBERG