Adani Group companies see ESG ratings cut by Sustainalytics

SUSTAINALYTICS has downgraded the ESG scores of several Adani Group companies, following a report by a short-seller raising concerns about corporate governance at the conglomerate last month.

The scores for “business ethics controversy” for Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission were downgraded from “low” to “moderate,” the ratings agency said on Wednesday (Feb 8). The score is designed to reflect the risk to investors of a controversy triggered by weak business ethics.

Adani Green Energy, which previously had no score, was assigned a “moderate” rating. Adani Enterprises’ “significant” score remained unchanged, but its outlook was downgraded to “negative” from “neutral” in that area.

The Adani Group has shed more than US$100 billion in market value since Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in a Jan 24 report. Selling is expected to intensify because active investors are rushing to sell ahead of passive funds, as index providers and ESG ratings firms put the companies under review.

MSCI said on Wednesday that it was reviewing how much of Adani Group-linked shares it considered freely tradable in public markets, which could affect its inclusion in key indexes, another potential trigger for selling. S&P Global said last week it was removing Adani Enterprises from its Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. BLOOMBERG