Israel looking for more investments from Adani Group: Envoy

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New Delhi, February 22

Israel's Ambassador Naor Gilon has said Tel Aviv welcomed Adani Group's plans to invest in more projects in Israel on a day when shares of all ten of the beleaguered group's listed firms fell, in the process contributing to a 927-point fall in Sensex and 272 points in Nifty of the NSE.

In all, the Adani group companies suffered a combined erosion of Rs 51,294.04 crore in their market valuation on Wednesday. The flagship Adani Enterprises' stock fell nearly 11 per cent and shares of seven other companies fell in the range of five per cent. NDTV fell 4.13 per cent and ACC 3.97 per cent. Adani Group's market capitalisation is now down 70 per cent to Rs. 7.55 lakh crore from Rs 25 lakh crore when the Hindenburg report came out.

Israel's Ambassador said his country's handing over of the strategic port of Haifa to the Adani Group is a reflection of the trust that it has on India. "It was a very important move from our point of view because Haifa Port is our strategic asset. Adani Group has the potential to make the Haifa Port the port it needs to be and to increase trade between Israel and India," he said.

Asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of the Adani Group being favoured in India-Israel defence contracts, Gilon said, "We have about 80 joint ventures with Indian companies, including Tata, Kalyani, BHEL... ports are the core business of Adani Group. I see ports working very well. Adani Group is looking for more projects in Israel and I hope they succeed," he said.

"I do not see the issue here. Joint ventures are by Israeli companies. They are not signed by Israel or pushed by Israel. The private companies are going in order to be relevant for the Indian market and they are always looking for strong and stable manufacturing partners," he added.

Days after the Hindenburg report began a rout of Adani group shares, its patriarch Gautam Adani had flown to Israel and with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu by his side, attended a ceremony at the Haifa port which was recently acquired by the conglomerate.

Netanyahu is expected to visit India in the first half of this year.

The Tribune