India’s Adani tries to calm investors as market rout continues

India’s Adani Group sought to reassure investors on Monday as a rout in its shares continued, saying its business plans were fully-funded, its cashflows strong and it remained confident of delivering attractive returns to shareholders.

Led by billionaire businessman Gautam Adani, the group’s seven listed stocks have together lost about $120 billion in market value since a Jan. 24 report by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, allegations the group has denied.

The turmoil continued on Monday, with shares in the listed companies extending their losses, reported Reuters.

In a statement to Reuters, the conglomerate said the balance sheet of each of its independent portfolio companies was “very healthy”, adding it had secure assets and strong cashflows, with its business plans fully funded.

“We are confident in the continued ability of our portfolio to deliver superior returns to shareholders,” Adani Group said in the emailed statement.

Bloomberg News reported on Monday the group had halved its revenue growth target and planned to scale down capital spending. A company spokesperson told Reuters earlier in the day the report was “baseless, speculative”, without elaborating.

The Adani crisis has sparked worries of financial contagion in India, protests in parliament where lawmakers have demanded an investigation, ratings outlook downgrades of some Adani units and cast a shadow on the group’s capital raising plans. Gautam Adani has also lost his crown as Asia’s richest person.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has been probing the market rout, including examining trade patterns and any potential irregularities in the $2.5 billion share sale of flagship company Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) that the Adani group was forced to cancel due to the stock’s plunge, Reuters has previously reported.

“Once the current market stabilises, each entity will review its own capital market strategy,” Adani Group’s statement said.

SEBI is set to brief federal finance ministry officials on Feb. 15 on its investigation into the shelved share sale, two sources told Reuters on Monday. SEBI and the finance ministry did not respond immediately to Reuters requests for comment.