Adani Group investor GQG Partners’ shares plunge 25% – on pace for record losses

Shares in Australian-listed GQG Partners fell as much as 25% on Thursday and were set to post their worst day ever after Adani Group Chair Gautam Adani was charged with fraud in New York.

If the loss holds, it would be the investment firm’s steepest one-day drop since its October 2021 IPO.

Shares of Adani Group companies also fell as Indian stock markets opened for trading. The Smart 50 the index fell 0.75%, while the BSE Sensex was 0.73% lower.

GQG is Adani Enterprises’ fourth-largest shareholder, owning about 3.94% of the company, according to LSEG data.

In a statement sent to CNBC, GQG said it is monitoring the allegations, adding that “our team is reviewing the new details and determining what, if any, actions for our portfolios are appropriate.”

The investment firm also pointed out that its portfolios have “diversified investments”, saying that over 90% of clients’ assets are invested in issuers unrelated to the Adani group.

GQG has reaped big gains by investing in Adani, whose shares fell after a January 2023 short-seller report by New York’s Hindenburg Research accused the company of fraud.

Rajiv Jain, chairman and chief investment officer at GQG Partners, told CNBC in January this year that his profits on Adani were around $4 billion, but he was probably done investing in the group.

Hindenburg had accused the Adani Group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud over decades”, sending shares down more than 54% in the first quarter of 2023.