Adani Group Plots Expansion Of Overseas Port Empire After US Funding
NDTV
The announcement signaled Washington's endorsement for the port empire owned by Karan's father and billionaire Gautam Adani that would help curb China's maritime influence in the Indian ocean.
Standing before Sri Lankan officials and US diplomats in Colombo hotel last week, Karan Adani said that a newly inked $553 million US government financing deal toward a port terminal being developed by his family's conglomerate was a "reaffirmation by the international community."
The announcement marked a welcome reprieve for Adani Group following a damaging short-seller attack and a number of corporate fraud allegations leveled against it this year. It also signaled Washington's endorsement for the port empire owned by Karan's father and billionaire Gautam Adani that would help curb China's maritime influence in the Indian ocean.
Those waters account for more than one-third of the world's bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of oil shipments. Chakri Lokapriya, chief investment officer at TCG Asset Management Co. in Mumbai, called Adani's port ambitions a "strategic" play, assisting India to counter China's own string of ports in its backyard, stretching from Sri Lanka to Pakistan.