Adani to prepay $1.11b loans on shares

India's Adani Group today said shares related to some group companies will be released following the pre-payment of $1.11 billion of loans ahead of their maturity in 2024 while denying media reports that said the conglomerate was planning to cut back its capital spending.

With the pre-payment of loans against shares, promoter holdings of 12 percent in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd APSE.NS, 3 percent in Adani Green Energy Ltd ADNA.NS and 1.4 percent in Adani Transmission Ltd ADAI.NS will be released, the embattled group said in a statement.

The loan pre-payment is "in light of recent market volatility and in continuation of the promoters' commitment to reduce the overall promoter leverage," the group said.

Adani Group plans to trim its capital spending while providing more collateral in the form of stock pledges to lenders, Indian newspaper Mint said, citing people close to the development.

"False report, on the contrary, Adani Group is moving to prepay all LAS (Loans Against Shares) finance," a spokesperson for the group said in a separate emailed statement to Reuters.

The group's domestic lenders do not plan to cut off the conglomerate from utilising sanctioned but unused credit lines for fears it could backfire and lead to defaults, Mint said in a separate report, citing bankers.

In the brutal fallout of Hindenburg's report, investors dumped Adani shares, while the group's flagship company, Adani Enterprises, was forced to abandon a $2.5 billion share sale last week.

Meanwhile, Group Chairman Gautam Adani lost his title as Asia's richest person and slipped down the global rankings of the wealthy.