Gautam Adani says exposure of Indian banks in his group's total lending is 'only 32%'

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani told India Today that exposure of Indian banks in his conglomerate's total lending is "only 32 per cent".

When asked about concerns that banks, including public sector banks, have huge exposure to Adani Group's debt, Adani said: "People raise concerns without verifying the facts. The fact is, nine years ago, out of our total debt, 86 per cent was lending from Indian banks. But now, the exposure of Indian banks in our total lending is reduced to only a level of 32 per cent."

Adani said 50 per cent of the conglomerate's borrowing is now through international bonds.

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"Almost 50 per cent of our borrowing is now through international bonds. You will appreciate that international investors are very astute and subscribe after proper due diligence and deep study," Adani told India Today Group's managing editor Raj Chengappa.

Adani, 60, has in the last few years expanded his coal-to-ports conglomerate into airports, data centres, cement, aluminium and city gas.

In September, Adani Group issued a 15-page note in response to CreditSights report calling the group overleveraged.

The group had a gross debt of Rs 1.88 lakh crore in March 2022 and net debt of Rs 1.61 lakh crore after considering the cash balance. While loans from public sector banks in 2015-16 accounted for 55 per cent of all debt of the group firms, in 2021-22, borrowing from PSBs made up for 21 per cent of all debt, the conglomerate had said in its reply to CreditSights.

In FY16, private banks accounted for 31 per cent of loans, which has now shrunk to 11 per cent. Money raised through bonds has jumped from 14 per cent of all loans to account for 50 per cent now, the Adani Group had noted.

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