Adani shares slump after freeze placed on foreign funds

CHENNAI: Shares of Adani group companies fell by about 5% to 25% on Monday after the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) froze the accounts of three foreign funds that are among the top stakeholders in the firms.
Adani Enterprises, the conglomerate's flagship company, fell as much as 25%, its steepest fall in nearly a decade. and Nifty 50-listed Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell as much as 19% before paring some losses.
The NSDL has frozen the accounts of Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund and APMS Investment Fund, its website shows without citing a reason for the freeze.
A rally in the shares of Adani Group companies had made its chairman Gautam Adani the second richest Asian, behind only Mukesh Ambani, chairman of oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries.
Shares of Adani Enterprises have risen more than 10-fold over the past year ending Friday, while Adani Transmission shares have gained more than eight-fold and Adani Total Gas Ltd shares are up 1,114% over the same period.
Adani Ports Ltd has risen 148%, while Adani Green has grown 267% over the last one year.
An Adani spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. India's securities regulator Sebi and NSDL did not respond to requests seeking comment.
However, a report in the Economic Times said the freeze on the three accounts could be because of insufficient disclosure of information related to beneficial ownership.
The funds have an investment of Rs 43,500 crore ($6 billion) in Adani group companies, according to the report.