Indian mogul Adani wants to proceed with power plant project in Kazakhstan
Adani Group is still showing its interest in power plant projects in Kazakhstan, according to Ernat Berdigulov, managing director for strategy and asset management in the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna. In December 2022, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was in Astana, where he met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
«We continue to negotiate with Adani Group. Despite problems within the company, it’s still interested in projects in our country. We talked to them just a week ago. They are still eager to cooperate with us and plan to send their specialists to discuss a project in more detail,» the official told Kursiv.
During this visit to Astana in December 2022, Gautam Adani made an arrangement with Kazakhstani officials to build a one-gigawatt coal power station and a one-gigawatt renewable power plant, according to Berdigulov. The coal station is expected to be located in the vicinity of the coal mine in Ekibastuz in order to make the plant’s work more efficient.
However, the exact location of both power plants and other details of the project must be decided during the next round of negotiations with the Indian company. There are many coal mines and coal power stations within Adani’s business empire.
According to Bloomberg, with a fortune of $39.9 billion, Adani holds the 30th position in the ranking of the wealthiest people in the world. In December 2022, he was considered the richest person in Asia with a fortune of $125.8 billion and third in the world after Bernard Arnault ($181.2 billion) and Elon Musk ($137.6 billion).
The company shares sharply plunged after Hindenburg Research issued a report on Adani Group on January 24. In the report, researchers accused the Indian conglomerate of wrongdoing and tax evasion. Within ten days the aggregate value of Adani Group decreased twofold. At the same time, Hindenburg Research has taken advantage and used short selling of the group’s shares.
Some media outlets speculate that Gautama Adani has built his fortune thanks to close relations with the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they are both from the state of Gujarat. Modi was the governor of the state when Adani made his first millions.
